How To Make The Perfect Fish Finger Sandwich – Recipe | Felicity Cloake's How To Make The Perfect …

I must beryllium nan only personification successful Britain not to person grown up pinch food digit sandwiches – we ever had them pinch mash and peas – but aft discovering them connected pub menus arsenic an adult, it wasn’t difficult to spot nan appeal. These crunchy batons of firm, creamy food successful soft achromatic bread, often topped pinch a tangy sauce, are surely nan UK balanced of Mexican food tacos aliases West African food rolls – a quick, nutritious and very satisfying ray repast aliases snack.

Signe Johansen’s sandwich uses readymade food fingers. All thumbnail photographs by Felicity Cloake.

(NB: if you’re skim-reading this earlier leaping beneath nan statement to request to cognize who needs a look for a food digit sandwich, I tin guarantee you a batch of group online look to consciousness there’s a demand.) Given their fame (indeed, this file was a scholar request), I must echo Helen Graves, who prefaces her look thus: “I americium bracing myself for nan comeback connected this one, because everyone (or astatine slightest everyone successful nan UK) has an sentiment connected what makes nan cleanable food digit sandwich.” As ever, each feedback overmuch appreciated!

The fish

The classical and, of course, nan easiest prime is to usage readymade food fingers, as Signe Johansen recommends successful her book Solo. For some, nostalgia makes this nan only option, and I surely wouldn’t sound it; modern food fingers thin to beryllium overmuch chunkier than nan weedy grey sticks of my childhood, successful which nan filling ever looked mysteriously ready-chewed.

However, location are advantages to making your own, principally that you tin take your ain food and precision technologist nan coating. Most recipes I find telephone for cod aliases haddock, aliases some if you’re Graves, but Edinburgh’s Little Chartroom cook Roberta Hall McCarron uses sole, and northbound London “sandwich genius” (I quote About Time magazine) Max Halley throws nan doorway wide open, penning successful Max’s Sandwich Book that “cod is backmost successful vogue, but who knows? Haddock? Whiting and sole would beryllium delicious”.

Helen Graves salts her food earlier making nan food fingers, which she past coats successful panko breadcrumbs for other crunch.

As truthful often pinch fish, nan champion action is mostly nan 1 that looks freshest connected nan day, and is astir sustainable. My preference, however, if it’s available, is for thing that comes successful heavy fillets, because I find nan sole and nan extremity of 1 of nan haddock fillets excessively thin: it throws disconnected nan ratio of food to crumb. Go for immoderate fits nan bill, though – I fishy hake would beryllium an fantabulous choice.

Graves salts nan food for half an hr earlier cooking, “to patient up nan texture, truthful what you get is really satisfying flakes of well-seasoned fish, not mushiness”. Though they’re rinsed afterwards, I for illustration nan measurement this seasons nan crockery from nan wrong out, but I really for illustration nan softer texture of food salted conscionable earlier cooking – it shouldn’t beryllium mushy. If you person akin textural objections, however, this is simply a measurement you whitethorn for illustration to consider.

The coating

I’m relieved to find that nary 1 batters their food fingers; this is not a food supper successful portable form, but flour, ovum and breadcrumb territory. Graves, Hall McCarron and Halley each plump for panko, nan ample flaked, white, ultra-crisp Japanese assortment that’s taken nan occidental crumbing world by large wind successful caller years; only Kirsty Scobie and Fenella Renwick, proprietors of Ullapool’s Seafood Shack and authors of an award-winning book of nan aforesaid name, recommend the fluffier benignant made from caller bread.

For me, each breadcrumbed food is delicious, but for this intent I somewhat for illustration nan crunchier texture of fried panko – if I were baking nan fish, I fishy I mightiness spell for caller crumbs instead, because barren breadcrumbs will inevitably go moreover dryer successful nan power of nan oven. (Home-dried breadcrumbs would, of course, beryllium a perfectly acceptable substitute.)

Flavour-wise, you could conscionable instrumentality to brackish and pepper, arsenic Halley does, aliases you could capitalise connected nan state of making your ain to herb things up a bit. The Seafood Shack chefs propose chopped caller herbs specified arsenic parsley and dill, while Graves describes her operation of panko and cayenne capsicum arsenic “super-crisp pinch conscionable a mini spot of warmth”, earlier going connected to explain: “We besides added a titchy pinch of MSG because we for illustration to unrecorded connected nan separator successful this house. That’s wholly optional, conscionable arsenic agelong arsenic you cognize that being frightened of MSG is pointless.” Hall McCarron, meanwhile, mixes her panko pinch blitzed oats and pumpkin seeds, past flavours them pinch ail and bulb powder and nutritional yeast, connected nan ground that, arsenic she points retired successful her book The Changing Tides: “You can’t spell incorrect pinch a food digit sandwich. And you surely can’t spell incorrect erstwhile nan food is coated successful breadcrumbs and yeast flakes.”

Saucy! Max Halley’s crockery pick and herb ketchup-embellished food digit sandwich

All of these are very valid options – my testers and I peculiarly for illustration nan savoury notes that nan yeast and MSG bring pinch them. And, though I haven’t included them successful my recipe, I’d besides impulse you to springiness nan pumpkin seeds successful peculiar a go; they springiness nan crumb an interestingly nubbly texture.

The sauces

Personally, for illustration Scobie and Renwick, I’m a tartare girl; nan operation of rich | mayonnaise trim pinch acidic pickles, savoury alliums (they usage shallots, I for illustration chives) and salty capers is cleanable pinch fried fish. It seems, however, that this is not nan will of nan group – Graves describes tartare arsenic “the fancypants choice” (guilty arsenic charged, Helen), explaining that nan cardinal to a cleanable food digit sandwich “is to usage a mayonnaise-based condiment and ketchup. I know. You are reeling,” she continues kindly. “The logic it useful is because nan ketchup offers thing I was ever missing successful nan food digit sandwich: sweetness. People thin to spell OTT connected nan acidity, I find, adding citrus juice, capers, vinegar et al, but fto maine show you erstwhile much – double-sauce is wherever it’s at.”

Halley agrees, but he uses crockery pick (a mayonnaise-adjacent sauce, I suppose?), describing nan operation of that and ketchup arsenic “SO good”. Mind you, he goes connected to boast astir blending a full pork pastry successful nan worldly to make a dip, truthful he’s decidedly a crockery pick superfan, whereas it reminds maine of early 1990s schoolhouse lunches, and not successful a bully way, I’m afraid.

Confession time: I find ketchup excessively saccharine and vinegary successful astir contexts – for illustration chocolate, it’s a flavour bully, dominating everything it touches – but I’m good alert this is simply a number opinion. My ain 2nd prime is Johansen’s punchy greenish Nordic dill salsa, which besides contains parsley, anchovies, gherkins, capers, horseradish, citrus juice and oliva oil. “Admittedly,” she writes, “a bully aged food digit sarnie tastes unthinkable pinch conscionable a bully squirt of ketchup, but erstwhile successful a while I for illustration a caller greenish condiment to grace those crispy small food sticks. This dill salsa is simply a awesome measurement of utilizing up immoderate likelihood and ends you person successful nan fridge – specified arsenic sad, forgotten herbs, condiments and pickles. Treat nan look arsenic a guideline and please do play astir pinch nan flavours to make it your own.”

Lest you beryllium successful immoderate uncertainty that ketchup is not nan only prime available, Hall McCarron gilds her food digit sandwich pinch a two-ingredient roasted ail mayonnaise, bringing backmost happy vacation memories of mountains of fried seafood dunked successful aïoli. No uncertainty astir of you will astir apt shingle your caput astatine specified notions, but don’t sound them until you’ve tried them.

Graves favours nan cool crunch of iceberg lettuce, while Halley prefers nan oily 1 of crumbled Scampi Fries (a peculiarly noxious, yet undeniably moreish marque of pub snack, for readers extracurricular nan UK). Hall McCarron makes a celeriac and butternut squash slaw flavoured pinch crushed wakame, which delivers crunch and a much subtle touch of nan sweetness that Graves feels is missing without ketchup (it is besides overmuch little activity than it sounds (grate some vegetables, adhd brackish and seaweed powder).

The summation of minty peas make Fenella Renwick and Kirsty Scobie’s food digit sandwich nan drawback of nan day.

My favourite extra, however, is nan Seafood Shack’s minty peas: stiff petits pois, blitzed pinch mint and citrus juice, which brings sweetness, freshness, and comforting echoes of my puerility (not that we pureed them). As this is not your childhood, you should consciousness free to switch it, aliases so eschew immoderate benignant of garnish arsenic an unnecessary complication of what should beryllium a elemental pleasure.

The cooking

If you’re utilizing bought food fingers, baking is nan measurement to go; it’s classical and low-faff. If you’re making your ain food fingers, however, I regretfully stock nan sick tidings that nan baked versions are a mediocre 2nd to nan fried variety, and drier wrong and out. You don’t request to deep-fry them, though; a fewer centimetres of lipid successful a frying cookware will do nan job, and if you’re going to nan problem of making your ain food fingers, you whitethorn arsenic good navigator them right, too.

The sandwich bread

Baptastic: Roberta Hall McCarron’s food digit sandwich.

When I spot that much than half nan recipes telephone for toasted bread, I statesman to mobility everything I thought I knew astir food digit sarnies – surely astir of nan pleasance comes from nan opposition successful textures betwixt breadstuff and filling? For this reason, I will only countenance soft, fluffy achromatic breadstuff (a achromatic tin loaf from my section bakery for me, though you whitethorn good beryllium successful nan Halley Mother’s Pride camp). Or, Hall McCarron’s achromatic rotation would activity (she mentions brioche, but I deliberation a bap would beryllium nicer). You tin conflict maine connected this successful nan comments; I won’t alteration my mind – though I will make an allowance for Johansen’s happy proposal that: “If you’ve had a really rotten day, aliases spent it doing earnestly strenuous exercise, fry nan breadstuff successful butter”. That I mightiness travel information to.

Perfect food digit sandwiches

Prep 25 min
Cook 8 min
Serves 4

For nan tartare condiment (or usage ketchup and/or mayonnaise)
200g mayonnaise, bought aliases homemade
1 tsp dijon mustard
1 heaped tbsp chopped capers
1 heaped tbsp chopped cornichons, aliases different vinegary gherkins
1 heaped tbsp chopped parsley, aliases dill
½ tbsp chopped chives

For nan food fingers (or usage 8 fresh made)
2 skinless fillets heavy achromatic fish (about 400g) – eg, cod, hake, haddock
Salt and pepper
50g plain flour
2 eggs
125g panko breadcrumbs, aliases different dried breadcrumbs
20g nutritional yeast flakes, aliases ½ tsp MSG powder (optional)
Neutral oil, for frying
8 slices bully soft achromatic bread, aliases 4 soft achromatic rolls
Butter, astatine room temperature

For nan minty pea puree
200g stiff peas
1 mini bunch caller mint, leaves picked
½ tbsp citrus juice
1 tsp horseradish sauce (optional)

Stir each nan ingredients for nan tartare condiment successful a bowl, past set and play to taste. Bring a kettle to a boil for nan peas.

If you’re making nan food fingers, trim nan food into 8 astir food finger-shaped logs, past play well.

Put nan flour connected a sheet pinch a small brackish and pepper, hit nan eggs successful a shallow bowl, and put nan breadcrumbs and yeast aliases MSG, aliases immoderate different seasoning you mightiness for illustration to add, connected a 3rd sheet aliases shallow bowl. Roll nan food successful move successful nan flour to coat, past successful nan egg, shaking disconnected immoderate excess, past successful nan crumbs.

If frying nan food fingers – which I’d counsel for homemade, though you tin cook them connected a lightly oiled tray astatine 200C (180C fan)/390F/gas 6 for 20 minutes if you prefer, turning erstwhile halfway – power a fewer centimetres of neutral lipid successful a frying cookware until it reaches 180C.

While nan lipid is heating, navigator nan peas successful salted boiling h2o for 3 minutes, past drain. Briefly return nan peas to nan basking cookware to steam dry, past usage a instrumentality blender aliases mini chopper to whizz them and nan different puree ingredients to a chunky puree. Season this to taste.

When nan lipid comes to temperature, fry nan food for 2 to 3 minutes connected each side, until aureate brown, past drain connected room paper. (If baking readymade food fingers, do truthful according to packet instructions.)

Butter 4 slices of breadstuff aliases nan bottommost half of 4 rolls, past apical each pinch immoderate of nan puree, followed by 2 food fingers, followed by a dollop of sauce.

buttered breadstuff topped pinch puree, food fingers and sauce

Close pinch nan remaining bread/roll lids, trim successful half (unless utilizing rolls) and service immediately.

• Fish digit sandwiches – americium I nan only personification successful nan UK to beryllium precocious to nan statement (indeed, are they celebrated farther afield?), and please, do fto maine know, what americium I doing wrong?

• The Guardian intends to people recipes for sustainable fish. Check ratings successful your region: UK; Australia; US.