Crusted White Fish Sandwich

Crusted White Fish Sandwich

I’ve been crav­ing a fish sand­wich all sum­mer. And this sand­wich is not it. What I’ve been han­ker­ing for is some­thing much less healthy than what I ended up with. I thought about try­ing to make a home made Filet ‘O Fish with tar­tar sauce but you know, even if you lighten it up it’s still going to be a deep fried mess. Some­times I amaze myself with my own restraint. Although it wasn’t what I ini­tially wanted, this sand­wich rocked. The corn meal made a nice thin crust that you could spice up any way you like and the toma­toes and — hello! — the spicy mayo madee it moist and juicy to bite into. Plus, Tilapia is a fish you can feel good about in every way — it’s super healthy and envi­ron­men­tally Kosher. It’s also nice and light and cooks quickly.

This sand­wich is more of an assem­bly job than any­thing else. On a hot sumer day, isn’t that exactly what you want? I made a lit­tle cole slaw of car­rot, cab­bage and bok choy to go with it. I was shoot­ing with our lovely pho­tog­ra­pher Maya on this day and thought I’d make it last so we could have one each for lunch. Just then Laura and Scar­lett arrived for the after­noon shoot. It was lucky I had enough for sand­wiches they were such a hit with every­one. Scar­lett didn’t find the mayo too spicy at all — although I noticed she took a pass on the toma­toes! Oh, well, you can’t win ’em all.

pho­tos by Maya Vis­nyei

Fish Week: Best Fish Sammie

Ingredients

  • 2 Tilapia filets (I got good sized ones, maybe 6 or 8 inches long)
  • 1/4 cup corn meal
  • salt and pep­per
  • 1/4 tsp chili pow­der
  • bit of veg­etable oil
  • 1/4 cup fresh pars­ley, washed and chopped
  • 4 buns (mine were oblong, but pick up what appeals to you)
  • 4 romaine leaves, washed and chopped
  • 2 toma­toes, washed and sliced
  • 1 cup may­on­aise
  • 1 1/2 Tbsp ketchup
  • 3 tsp Sriracha (a sweet and hot chili sauce)

Method

Spread corn meal evenly on a plate and toss in salt and pep­per and chili until it's all com­bined. Toss in the pars­ley. Spread the mix­ture evenly on your plate.

Rinse your Tilapia filets and pat them dry with paper towel. Press the fish into the corn meal and turn over, press the other side into the corn meal.

In a good sized pan, heat some veg­etable oil to medium heat. Place your fish down in the pan. It will take about 5 min­utes on the first side and only about 3 on the other.

While your fish is cook­ing, mix up your mayo, ketchup and hot sauce in a small bowl. Give it a taste. I kept mine on the mild side but do what suits you and your family.

Check your fish. The corn meal will be crusty and the fish should be opaque. If you're not sure, take the fish out of the pan and use your spat­ula to break it in half length­wise and take a look that it's opaque all the way through. Break your fish into large pieces. 2 big filets will make two sub­stan­tial sandwiches.

Slice open your buns and spread mayo on each side. Place your chopped let­tuce down, then fish, then tomato. Or what­ever, just get it all in your sam­mie. You'll have a good bit of mayo left over but you'll be so glad you do. It really makes this sand­wich and any other you add it to.

 

 

 

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2 Comments

  1. DaddyRunner
    September 08, 19:43 Reply

    Wow, this is a ridiculously yummy sandwich. I love fish tacos, so this was a natural to try. But even the pickiest eater in my family loved this one. It has become a new family fave!

    • Ceri
      September 09, 21:19 Reply

      Yey! We love hearing that! Thanks for giving it a try.

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