Sunday, 19 June 2022

'A Prayer of Fresh Fish' by Maria Thomas


She smooths her hands down the vertical stripes of her alb and begins the invocation.

“The perfect batter billows like a pillowcase in the breeze.

Effervescent, bubbles swell and burst crater-like on the surface. Mercurial hops complement the aluminium bite of the ocean-deep.

Beer and flour are chilled numb, sculpting unbearable lightness - the marble veils of Bernini are neither so gossamer, nor so ethereal.

Cod should be thick-fleshed and chalk-white - the length of a hand, the depth of a Hemingway.

Beef dripping injects an umami twist, unctuous, luxuriant, transforming good to glorious.

Frying temperature, no-more-or-less than 1. 8. 5. A fork should fracture the amber crust with a ricochet; saltwater steam should rise, ambrosial, heavenly.

The sacraments: triple cooked chips, sulphuric peas, malt vinegar, clouds of salt. DEMAND SCRAPS.”

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