Original Salt Potato Scallops with Crunchy Chip Shop Batter

Difficulty: Easy | Prep: 10 min | Cook: 15 min | Total: 25 min | Serves: 4 | Dietary: Vegetarian

Potato scallops are the best thing on the chip shop menu and nobody makes them at home. They should. All you need is a potato, a bowl of batter and a decent shake of Chooki's Original Chicken Salt while they are still spitting hot. That last bit is the whole trick.

Step 1: Slice and Dry

Cut the potatoes into 5mm rounds. Any thicker and the middle stays raw while the batter burns. Rinse the slices under cold water to wash off the starch, then pat them properly dry with a tea towel. Wet potato and hot oil is how you wear your dinner.

Step 2: Whisk the Batter

Whisk the plain flour, cornflour, baking powder and 1 tablespoon of Chooki's Original Chicken Salt in a bowl. Pour in the ice-cold soda water and whisk until it is about the thickness of pouring cream. A few lumps are fine. Stick the bowl in the fridge for 10 minutes while the oil heats. Cold batter hitting hot oil is what gives you those crunchy blistered edges.

Step 3: Fry

Heat the oil in a deep saucepan to 180C. Dust the potato slices in the extra flour, shake off what does not stick, then dip each one in the batter and lower it into the oil. Do five or six at a time, no more, or the oil temperature drops and they go greasy. Fry 4 to 5 minutes until deep golden, turning once.

Step 4: Salt Them Hot

Lift them onto a wire rack, not paper towel, and hit them with the second tablespoon of Chooki's Original Chicken Salt straight away. The steam coming off the batter is what makes the salt stick. Serve with lemon and tartare while they are still too hot to hold properly.

Tip: No thermometer? Drop a cube of bread in the oil. If it goes golden in about 30 seconds you are at 180C.