Wednesday Night Fish Fry

I've been missing fish and chips. Lent has just ended, which means that I've been bombarded for weeks with church fish fry signs and advertisements for fish specials and so on, but anything breaded and deep-fried has been pretty much been off the table in our house for years. Granted, I could (and do) sneak out for fish and chips at least a couple of  times between Ash Wednesday and Easter, but David gets all teary-eyed and martyred when he sees me eating fish and chips (or smells it on my breath) so that takes most of the fun out of it. If you've been eating gluten-free, you know that a decent-tasting batter that gets crispy *and* browns can be hard to come by. With all of David's other restrictions, most of the GF alternatives on the store shelves aren't an option either.

My moping around the house on Fridays and casting longing glances at all those church signs for weeks on end must have struck some kind of nerve, because I came home to the most marvelous surprise tonight: gluten-free, dairy-free, nightshade-free *fried* fish tacos - tastier by far than the (admittedly tasty but still, alas, inferior) baked ones we've been eating for years. Nom nom.

GF/CF/NF Fish Tacos

1 cup corn flour
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1 cup club soda

1 - 1 1/2 lbs. cod fillets

In a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients. Beat the egg slightly, add the club soda, and whisk together, then quickly stir into the dry mixture. It's OK if there are still some lumps. The consistency may be a little thick; it should be more like pancake batter than cake batter. Add more club soda if you need to.

Heat oil in a deep fryer to 375. Dip a piece of fish in the batter, making sure that it's completely covered (lifting the coated piece out with a fork - NOT poking, lifting - makes this easier and allows the excess to drip off). Deep fry until brown and crispy, about 3-4 minutes per piece, and drain on a rack over paper towels. Be careful not to overcrowd the deep fryer and lower the temperature of the oil, or the batter will get soggy.

To serve, wrap in a corn tortilla with shredded green cabbage, tartar sauce, and a big squeeze of lemon.