I pulled out the Instant Pot Air Fryer lid for this recipe, making air fryer fish and chips with home-made tartar sauce in honor of Inside Passage, Keema Waterfield’s gorgeous new memoir. The Inside Passage is the name of the series of inland waterways dividing and connecting Southeast Alaska. It’s also Waterfield’s internal journey of making sense of her childhood following their hippy mom, a free-spirited musician, to an endless array of music festivals each summer. People, stepdads, and homes ebb and flow out of Waterfield’s life as a child, some damaging, some healing. She writes her way through it all in gorgeous prose that’s nearly poetry in spots. Called “emotionally raw,” “beautifully crafted,” and “captivating” by reviewers. Don’t miss Inside Passage.
To celebrate the festival lifestyle, I made a treat for Keema’s episode they could rarely afford but always loved: fish and chips. It’s not the batter-dipped, deep fried version, but instead a quick and much less messy version made with an air fryer and Alaskan cod. I elevated it with home-made tartar sauce, which you should skip if you’re following a low-sodium, migraine, or Meniere’s diet.
Taste preview: Crispy thin fries and nicely cooked fish with a little bit of crispiness, plus zingy tartar sauce that’s sweet and tangy.
Required FTC declaration: I received an advanced copy of Inside Passage to review and to display on the show. Links in this post are affiliate links and may provide me a tiny fee if used to make a purchase.
Air fryer fish and chips
Ingredients
- 8 ounces cod Alaska cod, halibut, or tilapia, thawed overnight in refrigerator, patted very dry
- 8 ounces potatoes russet or Yukon gold, cut into matchsticks
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour (gluten-free)
- 1/4 tsp sea salt omit for low-sodium, Menieres, migraine diets
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 cup water (filtered or spring) or plain sparkling water
Tartar sauce
- 1/4 cup mayonnaise
- 1 lemon zest only (reserve lemon juice for another use)
- 1 tbsp pickle relish
- 1 tbsp pickle juice from sweet pickles
- 1 tbsp dill (fresh) finely snipped
Instructions
- Soak the cut potatoes in water until ready to use, then drain and pat dry thoroughly with a clean kitchen towel.
- Pat the fish fillets very dry and cut into smaller pieces if necessary for your air fryer space.
- Whisk together the flour, spices, and water in a medium bowl until smooth. It should be very thin.
- Preheat the air fryer to 400ºF. Spray the basket well with olive oil or coconut oil spray.
- Drop the potatoes into the basket, spritzing them with oil and tossing them to coat evenly. Sprinkle with additional salt (if using) and pepper.
- Dip the fish fillets into the batter, allowing the excess to drip off. Place on the shelf in the basket above the potatoes.
- Place the basket in air fryer and turn on to 400ºF for 10 minutes.
Tartar sauce
- Whisk together ingredients, starting with 1 tablespoon sweet pickle juice. Add more pickle juice if needed to get the consistency you want. Note that tartar sauce is not suitable for low-sodium, migraine, or Meniere's diets.
- Serve fish and chips immediately with tartar sauce on the side.
Leave A Comment