This is what I call a flexi-recipe – either a family meal, or one where the kids eat earlier and the adults enjoy the meal (perhaps with a glass of wine) when the kids are in bed. Prepare and freeze the fish fingers ahead of time, then just cook when you need them.
MAKES 2 adult or 4 kid-sized portions
PREPARATION TIME 10 minutes using pre-made Savoury Crumbs or 20 minutes from scratch
COOKING TIME 6 minutes
FOR THE FISH FINGERS
250g/9oz thick fish fillet, such as salmon, cod, haddock, pollack or other white fish
2 tbsp plain/all-purpose flour
1 egg, lightly beaten
75g/2½oz/¾ cup Savoury Crumbs (see below)
2–3 tbsp olive oil
a pinch of sea salt (optional)
TO SERVE
tortilla bread or wraps
choose any accompaniment, including:
• shredded lettuce or rocket/arugula
• tomato salsa, hot pepper sauce, ketchup
• mayonnaise (flavoured with garlic, lime or lemon juice), sour cream
• sliced tomatoes
• sliced avocado
• Home-made Guacamole (see page 18) or shop-bought guacamole
1 Cut the fish into 12 finger shapes and season lightly with salt, if you like.
2 Put the flour, egg and savoury crumbs into three separate mediumsized sandwich bags or shallow bowls. First, coat the fish fingers, a few at a time, in flour, then egg and finally turn gently in the crumbs so they are evenly coated. (The fish fingers can be prepared to this stage and kept in the refrigerator for a day or frozen for up to 3 months.)
3 To cook, heat a frying pan over a medium heat and add the oil. If you plan on cooking just a few, use less oil. Once hot, add the fish fingers and cook for 2–3 minutes on each side until golden and cooked through. Alternatively, if you have the oven on (for example, to cook some chips/fries or potato wedges, see page 148), lightly toss the fish fingers in the oil, put on a hot baking sheet and cook for about 6 minutes until golden, turning halfway. (If cooking from frozen, add a couple of minutes on each side, and fry or bake until completely cooked through.)
4 Once the fish fingers are cooked, either warm your tortillas in the microwave or lightly toast under the grill/broiler, then tailor-make your tortillas to everyone’s liking. Serve hot.
Lifesaver for the freezer
savoury crumbs
Simply whizz 200g/7oz white bread (with or without the crust) to a fine crumb in a food processor. Add 50g/1¾oz/1/3 cup polenta or semolina and 50g/1¾oz/2/3 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese and put into one large or a few smaller freezer bags. You can also shake in other flavourings before you freeze or add just before using, such as grated lemon, lime or orange zest, chopped herbs, finely chopped nuts, dried herbs, garam masala, paprika, chilli powder, Chinese five-spice, jerk or Cajun seasoning. When just frozen, shake the bag to break up the crumbs so they don’t stay frozen in a solid clump.