Good Old Fashioned English Chip-Shop Style Chips!

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!

• Ready In: 35 mins
• Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 2  lbs  old potatoes, peeled and cut into chunky sticks
•  oil (for frying)
•  salt
•  vinegar

Directions

1. Peel old potatoes and cut into sticks about 1cm thick and 8cm long.
2. Leave the potatoes in cold water to remove some of the excess starch prior to frying, then drain and dry.
3. Heat oil or deep fat in a chip pan, put a layer of chips in the bottom of a wire basket and lower into pan.
4. Fry until the chips are pale golden.
5. Remove them from the pan and drain on soft kitchen paper. Repeat this with the remaining chips.
6. Just before serving, re-heat the oil and fry all the chips until they are very crisp and golden
7. Serve immediately with battered fish (wrapped in newspaper if you like) adding salt and vinegar to taste.