A summer-is-coming dish by a renowned Australian chef, thanks to eatlove.com.au. Neil Perry is chef and restaurateur at the Rockpool group of restaurants in Sydney, Melbourne and Perth, as well as the author of several books. This recipe comes from his book The Food I Love (Murdoch).

Battering the fish does two things: one, it protects the fish from the fierce heat, so that it gently steams inside the batter; and, two, it gives a great crunchy exterior. This is a really simple beer batter: leave it lumpy, as it seems to make the fish more crisp and more tender at the same time.

Ingredients
4 × 200 g (7 oz) flathead fillets
vegetable oil
seasoned flour
lemon wedges
sea salt

For the beer batter:

plain (all-purpose) flour
350 ml (12 fl oz) beer

Preparation
To make the beer batter, add enough flour to the beer to give it the consistency of pouring cream. Mix it with a chopstick (it shouldn't be completely smooth), allow to stand for 10 minutes in the refrigerator, then add some ice cubes — the batter seems to turn crisp in the hot oil better if it is cold.

Heat the oil in a large frying pan or deep-fat fryer to 180°C (350°F). Dip the flathead fillets in the seasoned flour, then into the batter, shake off any excess and gently put into the oil. Don't try to cook all the fish at once, do it in two or three batches. Cook for about 5 minutes, or until the batter is golden brown, then remove the fish with a spider or slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Keep warm while you cook the rest. When ready, place a fish fillet on each of four plates and serve with a lemon wedge and a sprinkle of sea salt.

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