Lighter Fish and Chips

Lighter Fish and Chips is easy and delicious.

Many of us can't afford the prices at a fish market and we often opt to seek out the seafood department in our local grocery stores. I'd like to give you some tips on choosing fish and what to look for. I'll save that for the end of the post.

Ingredients:

• 6-8 filets of fish
• salt to taste
• pepper to taste
• 1 1/3 cups Wondra flour
• cayenne pepper to taste
• 2 tbsp. butter
• 3 tbsp. oil (vegetable, canola)
• lemon or tartar sauce for serving

1. Make sure your filets are blotted with a paper towel to absorb any moisture.
2. Season both sides liberally with salt and pepper. Set aside.
3. To a deep dish mix together the Wondra Flour, salt, pepper and cayenne. The seasoning is all to taste.
4. In a large skillet heat up the butter and oil over medium low heat.
5. Begin to dredge your fish and place them on a large platter.
6. Crank your heat up to medium, medium high. Wait a minute then start pan frying your fish. You will have to do this in batches and lower or raise the heat as necessary.
7. Fry to a golden brown. Depending on the thickness of the filets, it can take 2-4 minutes per side.
8. When the fish is done, transfer to a platter lined with paper towels and keep warm under a heat lamp or in a very low oven or toaster oven.

Serve with some kind of "chip" - any kind of French fry you like along with a vegetable or salad for a complete meal.

You can use any kind of flaky white fish: sea bass, flounder, sole, haddock and cod to name a few. For our dinner we used the black sea bass that my husband caught on Long Island Sound.

When choosing fish at the grocery store do not be timid about asking to smell the fish, where the fish came from (farm raised, wild caught and where if that information is not already available). What should it smell like you ask? It's fresh when what you smell is the ocean. If it smells other than that, pass it up.