Dietitian-n-da-Kitchen: PUB FARE! HDF: Fish-N-Chips

Happy Hump Day! Wednesday is always a good day for anyone who works...it`s halfway thru the week and halfway to the weekend. The glass is both half empty AND half full! So why not congratulate yourself on making it this far through the week? Take a break from the daily grind, pop the top of your favorite brew, and pretend you are in a pub in Ireland...or Scotland...or England. Tonight we are making Fish `N Chips! But not just any old, greasy fried fish and potatoes. We are having baked (yes, I said baked) fish and sweet potato oven fries! Don`t worry. You`ll still get your crunchy-battered fish. It just won`t be that thick, deep-fried stuff they serve at Long John Silver`s. No sir. This is a dietitian`s version...delightful, yet better for you.

The recipe I spun my fish recipe off of came from Cooking Light and can be found at this link: http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/fancy-fish-sticks-50400000113037/ . I subbed salted sunflower seeds for the pumpkin seeds and omitted the added salt (because of the sunflower seeds). They even list a coordinating sauce, which sounds quite good. However, mine was completely different and used a favorite secret ingredient....plain Greek yogurt!

The "chips" are sweet potato oven fries. If it has to be a potato, make it the orange kind! They are lower on the glycemic index which means they won`t spike your blood sugar as quickly and they will also "stay with you" longer because of this. Need to understand this visually? Look at the comparison between a white potato and a sweet potato below:

Crunchy Baked Fish

1 Tbsp olive oil

1/2 c flour

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 c light beer

1 Tbsp yellow mustard

the juice of 1/2 small lime

2 egg whites

1 egg

1 cup panko breadcrumbs

1/2 cup salted sunflower seeds (hulled)

1 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

12 tilapia fillets

lime wedges and/or cilantro for garnish

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Line 3 baking sheets with aluminum foil. Drizzle with the oil and put all three in the oven for 10 minutes.

Line up three shallow saucers or dishes. In the first, mix together the flour and pepper. In the second, mix together the beer, mustard, lime juice, egg whites, and egg.

Separately, process breadcrumbs, seeds, cumin, and pepper flakes in a food chopper until an even crumb mixture forms. Put the crumbs in the third dish.

Pat fish dry with a paper towel (particularly if you are using previously frozen fillets).

First, dredge fillet in flour/pepper mixture.

(both sides)

Then the egg mixture....

Then the seed/panko mixture, making sure to cover completely...

Repeat this procedure for every fillet. When all have been covered completely, transfer to pre-oiled and pre-heated baking sheets. Bake for 15-20 minutes (fish should flake easily with a fork).

Chili-Lime Yogurt Sauce

6 oz. plain Greek yogurt

1 tsp seasoning salt

1/2 tsp chili powder

1 Tbsp Zatarain`s Creole Mustard

the juice of 1/2 small lime

Mix all ingredients together and chill before serving with fish (as a dipping sauce).

Sweet Potato Oven Fries

8 large sweet potatoes, washed and patted dry

olive oil

2 tsp kosher salt

sprigs of fresh rosemary

Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees.

Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.

Cut potatoes (carefully!) into long strips, leaving skins on. Make them as thick or as thin as you like, but do one or the other consistently. (Reason? The thinner ones cook faster! If you mix, you`ll end up with an uneven product.) Add to a large prep bowl.

Drizzle generously with olive oil and sprinkle with kosher salt.

Toss with your hands! (Make sure they have been washed and sanitized!)

Transfer to prepared baking sheet.

Spread the potato cuts evenly across the pan.

Add some fresh rosemary....

Bake in preheated oven for 15 min on one side (if fries are thick, only 10 min if they are thin!). Then, remove and turn each fry over. Bake on this side for another 10-15 minutes. Remove and serve hot.

Meal Presentation & Assembly