Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Baked Fish Sticks


It's difficult to find a recipe that uses a lot of dill. One tablespoon here, one tablespoon there.....makes the dill bunch diminish really slowly (which I guess there is nothing wrong with this, as long as the dill stays fresh).

I made this for dinner when it was just the kids and I. I was sure this would be a kid-friendly meal. M, in particular, loves fish. I forgot to account for the homemade challah bread that came out of the oven about 15 minutes before supper was ready. All either kid wanted for dinner was challah with jam. Sigh. When I refused more challah without eating fish, M ate all of hers and J ate part of his. However, she didn't ask for seconds.

Nonetheless, I will make this again. I still think that on a normal day, when it is not competing with warm challah, the kids will love it. I plan on reheating the leftovers, putting them with those pickled onions and making some pseudo fish tacos for lunch. This original recipe had a bit of spice to it. I omitted it because I hoped the kids would eat. I am sure the recipe would be fabulous with the cayenne. Next time, I will also serve this with tartar sauce---it was begging to be dipped in something.

Baked Fish Sticks
from Bon Appetit

6 T butter, melted
1 T dijon mustard
1 T fresh lemon juice
1 T chopped fresh dill
1 c plain dried breadcrumbs
1/2 t cayenne pepper (optional)
1 1/2 lbs white fish fillets, cut into 3 x 3/4" strips

Whisk together butter, dijon, lemon juice, and dill in a pie plate. Mix breadcrumbs with cayenne in a another shallow dish.

Heat 2 baking sheets in preheated 475 degrees oven until hot, about 5 minutes (I skipped this step, I suspect this would make the fish sticks crispier than mine came out).

Dip fish, 1 strip at a time, in butter mixture, then in crumbs. Turn to coat. Place 1 inch apart on prepared sheets. Bake until crumbs are golden and fish is opaque in center, about 6 minutes per side (12 minutes total). Garnish with lemon wedges and serve.

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