Original Salt Crumbed Flathead with Lemon Butter Mash

Difficulty: Easy | Prep: 15 min | Cook: 20 min | Total: 35 min | Serves: 4 | Dietary: Contains gluten, dairy, egg and fish

Friday night fish, done properly at home for about half what the shop charges. Chooki's Original Chicken Salt goes straight into the crumb, so every bit of that golden crust is seasoned instead of just the outside. The mash underneath soaks up the lemon butter and that is the whole trick.

Step 1: Boil the Spuds

Potatoes into a big pot of cold salted water, bring to the boil, then simmer 15 to 18 minutes until a knife slides through with no resistance. Starting them in cold water matters. Drop them into boiling water and the outsides go to mush before the middles are done. Drain and leave them in the hot pot for a minute to steam off.

Step 2: Crumb the Fish

Three bowls: flour in one, beaten egg in the second, panko mixed with 1½ tablespoons of the Chooki's Original in the third. Pat the fillets properly dry with paper towel first, then flour, egg, crumb, pressing the panko on firmly. Wet fish sheds its crumb in the pan every time.

Step 3: Fry Until Golden

Heat about 1cm of oil in a big frypan over medium-high. Drop a crumb in, it should sizzle straight away. Fry the fillets in two batches, 2 to 3 minutes a side, until deep golden and the flesh flakes when you press it. Onto a wire rack, not paper towel, or the underside steams and goes soft.

Step 4: Mash and Serve

Mash the potatoes with 80g of the butter and the milk until smooth, then stir through the last ½ tablespoon of Chooki's and a good squeeze of lemon. Melt the remaining 20g butter with another squeeze of lemon and pour it over the mash. Fish on top, lemon wedges on the side.

Tip: Buy flathead tails if you can get them. They cook in about half the time and the crumb sticks to the shape better than it does to a flat fillet.