Grandma’s Recipes – Fish and Chips

When I saw The Spiced Life’s blogging event: ‘I want dishes that your grandma made’, it really got me thinking about the wonderful summer holidays I used to spend with my grandparents. The problem set-in when I tried to remember what I loved about my Nan’s (Grandma’s) food. Don’t get me wrong; it wasn’t that I didn’t like her cooking. The problem was that only one dish sprang to mind and I absolutely adored it! Even with more memory prodding I still find it hard to remember anything other than my Nan’s ‘fish and chips’.

The ‘fishman’ used to come round in his van every Friday morning, so we almost always had fish and chips for our lunch that same day. The subtle difference which made these fish and chips different from any other was the fact that my Nan made her breadcrumbs from crushed Cornflakes! As a child I used to find it really amusing that a breakfast cereal could be used with fish. This isn’t something I’ve come across since, but I’m sure other people must do this too, as the dish is delicious.

Last night I tried to recreate it. Taking some line-caught haddock, tossed in seasoned flour, covered with a beaten egg, and finally dipped in crushed cornflakes, I then shallow-fried the fish in grapeseed oil. It was served with homemade chips and peas. Nostalgia on a plate!

The result is a lovely crunchy coating. You really wouldn't know that the crumbs were made from Cornflakes.

I’m not sure that this really counts as a ‘recipe’, but is perhaps just a memory about a certain ingredient and my grandmother. But I really like the idea of this blogging-event and it certainly brought some forgotten precious memories to the fore.