YOU AWESOME MONKEY BACON!
Have you ever wondered what to do with your almond flour that is just too coarse for making macarons?
Here is a super delicious and healthy idea!
Making breadcrumb-free ‘breaded’ fish fingers (or as you wonderful people across the pond like to call them – fish sticks) is a great way to keep meals fun and makes a change from all those fancy herbs and posh crusts people seem to be adding to their fish these days (not to say I dislike such things!)
Who doesn’t LOVE a portion of fish fingers – especially when you have some tartar sauce to drench them in!
I reckon there are a lot of you out there whose parents fed them fish fingers far more than they should have, I know it certainly happens now. Parents feeding their kids breaded, processed ‘meats’ and ‘fish’ – it’s enough to make you sick!
I should really thank my parents; I may have been overweight for all of my childhood but my parents were just doing what they thought was right, keeping up with the conventional wisdom of healthy eating. At least they had the sense to know processed foods weren’t great for my brother and I but certain childhood memories stick…
Fish fingers to me were more than just a quick weekday meal, even more than just a treat! Fish fingers remind me of some very distinctive smells, emotions and tastes. My brother and I always got fish fingers when my parents went out with their friends for dinner.
When I think of fish fingers – I think of the smell of my mom’s YSL Opium perfume, I think of the smell and taste of Koo tomato sauce, I also remember crying (because I wasn’t allowed to go out with my parents) but my tears were always wiped away with the promise of mighty fish fingers!
Now that the sentimental story is out the way – let’s get down to it!
Almond Crusted Fish Sticks and Tartar Sauce
Inspired by Paleo Comfort Foods
Makes: 15 pieces Takes: 30-35 mins
For the Fish–
Ingredients:
600g cod loins (or any other strong white fish)
60g ground almonds (coarse is good)
1/2 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp black pepper
- preheat oven to 180 C/350 F and line or lightly grease a baking sheet
- start by mixing together the ground almonds, paprika and pepper into a wide shallow dish
- rinse and then dry your pieces of fish
- place fish onto a chopping board and cut into evenly sized long portions
- place a few pieces at a time into the ground almond crumbs and coat evenly
- place the well coated pieces of fish onto the baking sheet
- repeat the process until all pieces of fish are evenly coated
- once the fish sticks have been coated and the oven is at the correct temperature, place the tray in the oven, and bake for 20-25mins
- serve with tartar sauce (and maybe a side dish)
For the tartar sauce-
Ingredients:
2 egg yolks
1/2 cup light olive oil
2 tsp of lemon juice
salt & pepper to taste
1 large pickled cucumber – finely chopped
2 tablespoons capers – chopped
1 tsp cider vinegar
- start by making your mayonnaise, whisking your egg yolks briskly while VERY slowly adding in the olive oil – refer to this website for detailed instructions if you’ve never made mayonnaise before
- once the mayonnaise reaches the right consistency, add the lemon juice, salt and pepper
- VERY finely chop your cucumber and capers, add into the mayonnaise with the vinegar
- mix, taste and adjust with salt and pepper to your taste
These could be enjoyed as an addition to a buffet table, eaten as a snack or served with a side dish to round it off as a whole meal.
Mo and I ate these with a portion of oven baked potato ‘fries’ (we need to work on those) but that was a special treat and I made sure to keep my carbohydrate intake low for the entire day in order to enjoy the potato. It’s been a long time since I’ve eaten potato.
If you’re being good I recommend serving with a generous portion of long stem broccoli. You can pretend they’re fries!
If you don’t like broccoli – you’re crazy!
Ooo peas! mush some of them up and be all British… although personally I can’t say I’ve ever understood the appeal of mushy peas…
These are great to make ahead of time and re-heat OR make a huge batch and freeze half to use as a convenience meal during the week, just reheat in the oven for 15-20 mins
