Aishling Moore: Endless opportunities with this family favourite — fish finger tacos

Aishling Moore:"Scent with ground cumin and coriander for warmth and some finely diced lemon chillies for an added kick. You could use any chilli here, fresh or dried, a few diced pickled jalapenos would be fabulous too." Picture Chani Anderson

There are endless opportunities for a seafood supper with a couple of fish fingers. Head in the direction of a chip shop dinner with some spuds, serve with an old reliable tin of beans or try this weekend’s recipe, a family favourite fish finger tacos.

To go with this, I’ve opted for a warm pea and chilli salsa which is an excellent garnish for a taco this time of year. Crushing half the peas leaves you with an accompaniment that’s somewhere between a refried bean and a salsa. 

Scent with ground cumin and coriander for warmth and some finely diced lemon chillies for an added kick. You could use any chilli here, fresh or dried, a few diced pickled jalapenos would be fabulous too. This little side would also be great with a piece of baked or pan-roasted fish and comes together so quickly when you have a bag of peas in the freezer.

I’ve used some pin-boned and skinned hake fillets for these fish fingers but you could use any round fish like pollock, haddock or whiting just make sure your cutting them all at similar thickness so they will cook at the same time and keep your eyes peeled for bones.

Flat fish are fantastic too for fish fingers. Choose the more economical species like megrim or witch, if you can get your hands on them. Ask your fishmonger to fillet and skin if you’d feel more comfortable.

When there is fried fish and peas in my house there is always tartar sauce. It's so simple to throw together with a couple of finely diced gherkins, chopped capers, a generous teaspoon of Dijon mustard, lemon zest, fresh herbs like dill and chervil, mayonnaise and a little crème fraiche for a sour spike.

Fish finger tacos with pea and chilli salsa

recipe by:Aishling Moore

There are endless opportunities for a seafood supper with a couple of fish fingers. Head in the direction of a chip shop dinner with some spuds, serve with an old reliable tin of beans or try this weekend’s recipe, a family favourite fish finger tacos.

Servings

4

Preparation Time

 48 mins

Cooking Time

 10 mins

Total Time

 58 mins

Course

 Main

Ingredients

• For the fish fingers:

• 90g plain flour

• 1 egg

• 200ml milk

• 150g Panko breadcrumbs

• For the pea and chilli salsa:

• 350g frozen peas

• 1 shallot, finely diced

• 2 cloves garlic, minced

• 2 tbsp golden rapeseed oil

• 1/4 tsp cumin

• 1/4 tsp coriander

• 1 chilli, finely diced

• 2 sprigs mint, finely chopped

• 1 Lime juiced

• To serve

• Tortilla wraps

• Half a bunch of coriander leaves, picked

• Tartar sauce

• Lime wedges

Method

1. Place the frozen peas in a small bowl and cover with 400ml of boiling water.

2. Allow to sit for 5 minutes before draining. Set aside.

3. In a medium-sized, pot on medium-low heat sweat the shallot and garlic in rapeseed oil until translucent.

4. Add the chilli, ground cumin and coriander and cook for 1 minute to bloom the spices.

5. Add the drained peas and warm through.

6. Using a potato masher or the back of a fork crush half of the peas.

7. Add the lime juice and season to taste with salt.

8. Finish with chopped mint and serve warm.

9. To make the fish fingers, remove the skin from the fish and cut into 2cm by 5-inch fingers.

10. This should give you approx. 16 fingers of fish.

11. Preheat a deep fat fryer to 180°C.

12. Beat the egg and milk in a small bowl.

13. Place both the flour and panko breadcrumbs in a small bowl each. Working in batches of five at a time, toss the pieces of fish through the flour first, next through the milk and egg mixture and finally through the panko breadcrumbs, shaking off the excess flour, egg and milk and breadcrumbs at each stage.

14. Working in batches, fry for 2 minutes or until golden brown. Drain on kitchen paper and sprinkle with sea salt.

15. To serve, warm the tortilla wraps in the microwave or oven.

16. Place some of the crushed peas on the base of each wrap, top with a fish finger, some tartar sauce and finish with a garnish of coriander leaves and your favourite hot sauce.

Fish tales

· To achieve a beautifully coated fish finger, I like to blend a percentage of the panko breadcrumbs to ensure a more evenly coated result.

· These fish fingers will also freeze well provided the fish is fresh and well coated in the breadcrumbs. Layer between sheets of parchment paper to prevent from sticking together.

· For a proper chip shop feel, season with a splash of malt vinegar.

· These fish fingers can bebaked in a preheated oven or shallow fried in a pan if you’d rather not deep fry.

· I like to use the seeds of the chilli when making this crushed pea salsa but remove if you are cooking for heat-sensitive palates.

· Whack the tortilla wraps in the microwave on high for 15 seconds, cover in a tea towel to keep warm.