Fried Fish with Watermelon Chutney and Tartar Sauce
Take traditional fish and chips to a new level: Fried Whitefish with Diced Watermelon Chutney and Watermelon Rind Tartar Sauce. You’ll love the combination of this sweet spicy chutney, the acidic tartar sauce, and crispy fried fish. This recipe also helps reduce food waste by using both the flesh and the rind of the watermelon.
Ingredients
- FISH
4 ea Cod fillet, 5 oz., cut in half
to taste Salt
to taste Pepper
1 ½ cups AP flour
1 cup Cornstarch
½ tsp Baking powder
½ tsp Baking soda
1 tsp Salt
2– 2 ½ cups Sparkling water
1 tsp Lemon juice or vinegar
Ingredientsas needed Flour for coating
2 qt Vegetable oil
CHUTNEY¾ cup Red onion, small dice
½ cup Rice vinegar
½ cup Sugar
2 cups Watermelon, red or yellow, small dice
1 ea Fresno chile, 1/8” slices, seeded
1 Tbsp Mint, chiffonade
1 Tbsp Cilantro, chopped
TARTAR SAUCE½ cup Watermelon rind, grated
1 cup Mayonnaise
¼ cup Capers, chopped
¼ cup Dill, chopped
1 Tbsp Whole grain mustard
Ingredients4 ea Watermelon slices
Directions
- Cut each of the fish fillet into 2 pieces. Season with salt and pepper.
- Mix together the dry ingredients for the batter and set aside.
- For the Chutney: Combine onion, vinegar and sugar in sauce pot and cook on medium heat until reduced by ¾. Add the watermelon and Fresno chiles, and continue to cook for 5 more minutes until thickened. Cool and add the herbs, strain any access liquid as needed.
- For the Tartar Sauce: Squeeze any excess water from the watermelon rind. Combine all ingredients and mix well. Keep cold.
- For the Fish: Mix dry ingredients from earlier, with the sparkling water and lemon juice until just combined. Do not overmix.
- Dry the fish well, coat with flour, and dip into the batter.
- Fill a pot with the oil so that it reaches ½ way up the sides and heat to 350°F.
- Place fish into the heated oil and fry until golden brown, about 3-4 minutes. Season with salt while warm.
- Serve fish with the tartar sauce and the chutney. Garnish the plate with a slice of watermelon.