I don't know about all of you, but whenever I plan to make fish, I never think about making a fish sandwich. I'm not really sure why that is, but we had some leftover buns that I wanted to use up and everything just feel into place after that. This fish sandwich is a little on the lighter side because it doesn't have a beer batter coating and it's not fried. So, you still get that crunchy coating, but since it's baked, you don't have to worry about all the oil. Here's what I did...
-tilapia fillets (or any other flaky, white fish. Allow 1 per sandwich. Try to make sure they are all the same size so that they will cook evenly.)
-about 1 cup of panko bread crumbs (It's a Japanese style bread crumb and can be found in the asian aisle at the grocery store. This amount covered 2 fillets, so add more as needed, along with the spices, zest and butter.)
-1/2 cup of flour
-2 eggs
-a rounded TBS of Old Bay Seasoning
-the zest of 1 large lemon (after zesting, cut the lemon into wedges and reserve)
-a small handful of parsley, finely chopped
-1 TBS of butter, melted (it helps to brown the panko bread crumbs in the oven)
-rolls/buns of your choice
-lettuce leaves and sliced tomatoes (optional)
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Set up your breading station. In the first bowl, add the flour. In the second bowl, beat the eggs. In the third bowl, combine the panko bread crumbs, Old Bay seasoning, lemon zest, parsley and melted butter. Toss with your hands to distribute everything evenly. Dab the fish dry with a paper towel, then dredge in the flour and shake off the excess. Dip the fish into the egg, then into the panko mixture. Press the fish firmly in to the panko to ensure that it sticks to the fish. Place the fish on a cooling rack set over a cookie sheet. Repeat until all the fish is breaded. Allow the fish to sit for 5-10 minutes to give the breading time to dry out a little, so that it sticks to the fish better. Place the fish in the oven and cook for 10-12 minutes. (If the the fish is thicker than 1/2 inch thick then add a few more minutes to the cooking time.) When the fish comes out of the oven, squeeze the reserved lemon over the top of each fish.
Tartar Sauce:
-1 small container of plain greek yogurt
-1 TBS mayo or Miracle Whip
-5 to 6 large pickle slices, finely diced (you can use pickle relish, but I find it a little too wet.)
-the juice of half a lemon
-1 tsp dry ground mustard
-1/2 tsp onion powder
-1/2 tsp celery seed
-salt and pepper to taste
Combine all the ingredients in a small bowl and mix well.
I make the Tartar Sauce before breading the fish so that the flavors of the sauce can sit and marinate together. This tartar sauce is an alternative to the sour cream and mayo based tartar sauces that are more traditional. I hope you will give this one a try because it is quite flavorful and you can't tell that you're eating yogurt instead of sour cream.
To serve the fish sandwiches, toast the rolls if desired. Place the fish on the bottom bun and top it with the tomato and lettuce. Smear a generous amount of tartar sauce on the top bun to finish the sandwich.
Even through the bun, you can feel the crunch of the coating on the fish and the spices and lemon zest add a spicy and tangy kick. This crispy fish would be just as good to eat by itself instead of a sandwich. Enjoy!
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