THE ULTIMATE CHIP BUTTY?

16th April 2008, 9:59am

The chip butty. One of the most evocative and truly British of comfort foods. Vale's Fresh, the British potato brand supplying exclusively to the foodservice sector, has been conducting some lighthearted research to find out the secret to Britain's best chip butty, with help from food writer and broadcaster Roz Denny. And she's persuaded several gourmet foodies to share their tips and suggestions on how to make the ultimate chip butty.

• Choose some good fresh white bread, or try a barmcake, stottie cake or bap. Split and butter lightly. (Opinions differed on the use of butter - some foodies even advocate margarine). 
• Deep fry fresh chips until golden and crisp.
• Pile onto one slice, season lightly with sea salt and sprinkle with malt vinegar or squirt with a little tomato ketchup, brown sauce or mayo.
• Sandwich together and serve

• Curry Butty - spoon on curry sauce
• Egg 'n Chip Butty – top with a fried egg
• Euro Star Chip Butty – spread the bread or bap with Dijon mustard and mayo
• Mediterranean Chip Butty – split a small crusty baguette, sprinkle with garlic-flavoured olive oil, add golden chips and scatter with capers or chopped olives.
• Wholemeal Chip Butty – use a wholemeal bap, sprinkle with olive oil, add lettuce, red onion and tomato, fill with golden chips and sprinkle with balsamic vinegar.
• Moroccan Chip Butty – spread the bread sparingly with hot harissa paste, and some hummous then fill with hot golden chips.
• Fish 'n Chip Butty – top the chips with a portion of crisply cooked fish or two fish fingers and mayo or ketchup!