I told you about the wonder and majesty that is quick pickled cabbage; I wanted to give you all a recipe that would really help show off how good it is. This one is a winner. It has all the appeal of a hotdog crossed with fish and chips, with a tangy dilly aioli and fresh greens, and of course the pickled cabbage. Plus, optional but recommended, fried jalapenos to top everything off. These would be fantastic for a summertime backyard party.

Don’t get overwhelmed by the deep frying element of this recipe. I used to be super intimidated to deep fry anything, but this is actually pretty quick and simple. You don’t need any special equipment, just a large, heavy pot and a thermometer (in a pinch you can do it without a thermometer). If there is a recipe that’s worth pushing past deep frying anxiety, I think this is it.

crispy beer battered fish (and jalapenos!)

1½ cups all-purpose flour, plus a bit more for dredging
½ cup cornstarch
2 tsp baking powder
1 can of your favorite beer
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 pound halibut, cod or other flaky white fish
⅓ cup pickled jalapenos, drained and patted dry with paper towel
3-4 cups neutral oil for frying

Pat fish dry with a paper towel and remove any bones. Cut the fish into hotdog-sized batons.

Heat oven to 250° and place a cookie sheet with a cooling tray on it into the oven. Heat oil in a large, heavy pot to 350°. If you don’t have a thermometer, heat the oil until a little batter dropped in sizzles and bubbles vigorously.

Combine dry ingredients in a medium bowl. Stir in beer and mix until evenly combined. Working one piece at a time, dredge fish in flour and then dip into batter. Make sure to coat the fish all over. Carefully place battered fish into hot oil. Fry until deep golden brown, turning fish over after two or three minutes when the bottom is dark enough.

Place cooked fish on the rack in the oven while you continue cooking the rest. Dip jalapenos in batter and fry for couple minutes. Drain on the rack with the fish.

dill aioli

1 cup mayonnaise
¼ cup fresh dill, roughly chopped
1 tsp garlic powder
salt and pepper
2 tbs lemon juice

Stir all ingredients together.

assembly

All of the above plus:

pickled cabbage, drained of as much pickling liquid as possible
pea shoots or other crisp greens
more tiny dill fronds
hot dog buns

Slather a soft hot-dog bun with dill mayo, and add pea shoots and pickled cabbage. Top with a piece of crispy fish, some dill and a few jalapenos if you like.

Lacto fermentation might sound complicated or strange, but it's quite likely you are already familiar with it and you may have eaten some lacto fermented foods recently. Sauerkraut, kimchi, sourdough bread and yogurt are all made by lacto fermentation; they all harness bacteria that eat various sugars and turn them into lactic acid and help to produce a variety of tasty, tangy, healthful foods. Lacto fermented pickles are a little sour; the flavour is distinct from vinegar pickled things.

They are also another way to incorporate more possibly beneficial bacteria into my diet. I like this because I have made an effort to try to consume the food versions of certain supplements I used to take. Instead of taking probiotics; I am trying to eat more kimchi, kefir and pickles.

It's easy for me to eat more pickles for their bacterial benefits because l absolutely love pickles. When I was little I liked salty foods even more than sweets-I used to sneak pickles out of the fridge like other children dipped secretly into the cookie jar. I loved olives and crackers and cheese and especially pickles. Not that I didn't eat cookies and sweets, but I loved salty snacks more.

For these pickles I used some lovely pale yellow cucumbers from my CSA box and some regular green pickling cucumbers, but any firm vegetables work well, I like to use carrots, green beans and cauliflower too. It's important to use non-idodized salt for this recipe to allow the bacteria to thrive.

lacto fermented dill pickles:

adapted from The Urban Homestead

a quantity of vegetables to pickle, cleaned and cut down into the shapes of your choosing
non-iodized salt
lots of dill, a big handful per jar
one clove of garlic per jar
mustard seeds, whole chilies, or chili flakes, whole black peppercorns, celery seed or whatever other spices you like

Place the prepared vegetables into clean jars and pack with your chosen spices. Fill the jars with water, making sure to measure the water you pour into each jar. Add salt to each jar in a measure of 0.75 parts salt to 10 parts water; so that one cup of water needs 2.4 tbs salt, for example.

Make sure that brine is covering all the vegetables; using a smaller jar or drinking glass to push everything under the surface works well. Anything poking through the brine is likely to mould. If mould does form, just skim it off the surface, or chop off the mouldy end of the vegetable. Everything under the brine should be ok.

Leave the jars out at room temperature, covered by cheesecloth to keep insects out, for at least three days. The length of time varies; quicker in hot weather, slower when it's cool. The pickles are ready for refrigeration when they slightly sour, the brine may be almost fizzy, when they are clearly transformed. Then they can be refrigerated with lids on. This will enormously slow fermentation. but it still carries on in the fridge somewhat so they will continue to change as they sit.

Photo credits: Tyrel Hiebert