Crispy Squashed Chips

Serves	4
Prep time	30 minutes
Cook time	5 minutes
Total time	35 minutes
Region	British
By author	Karen S Burns-Booth

The first "chips" were pieces of bread, which were replaced with potatoes during wheat shortages. The first "chippies", a colloquial slang term for a Fish and Chip shop, were Lees's in Mosley, Lancashire, and Malin's in London's East End - opened for trade in the 1860s. During the Second World War, the minister of food wouldn't ration fish and chips because they provided good, cheap nourishment! It is traditional to serve chips piping hot with salt and malt vinegar.

Ingredients

900g Old potatoes (such as: King Edward, Maris Piper, Rooster or Sante)
Vegetable Oil (for frying)
salt (to season)
Malt vinegar (to taste)

Note

The more you move the chips around the more crispy bits you get - it's not conventional know, but we love crispy squashed chips!

Directions

Step 1	Peel the potatoes and cut into sticks about 1cm thick and 8cm long. Put the potatoes in cold water to remove some of the excess starch prior to frying, then drain and dry.
Step 2	Heat oil in a chip pan or deep frying pan and put all of the chips in. Fry until the chips are pale golden, moving them around during frying to get the squashed bits get all crispy. Remove them from the pan and drain on soft kitchen paper'
Step 3	Just before serving, re-heat the oil and fry all the chips until they are very crisp and golden then drain them, and serve immediately with battered fish (wrapped in newspaper if you like) adding salt and vinegar to taste. Or, make a chip butty!