Knockout fish finger sarnies

At the heart of this excellent sarnie is homemade fish fingers generously portioned with a beautiful crisp crum coating. Feel free to use any firm fish – salmon and cod are both great choices. Serve with sweet potato chips.

Ingredients

• 4 sweet potatoes (800g/1lb 12oz total)
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 25g/1oz plain flour
• 1 large free-range egg
• 1–2 thick slices of wholemeal bread (roughly 80g/2¾oz)
• 15g/½oz cheddar or Parmesan cheese (optional)
• 4 x 120g/4oz salmon or cod fillets, skinless and pin-boned
• 2 tbsp tomato ketchup
• 4 heaped tbsp natural yoghurt
• 1 Little Gem lettuce
• 4 submarine bread rolls
• salt and black pepper

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 200C/180C/Gas 6.

2. Scrub the sweet potatoes clean, slice each one into chunky chips (use a crinkle-cut knife, if you’ve got one), then tip them onto a large baking tray.

3. Season lightly with salt, black pepper and the smoked paprika, then drizzle over 1 tablespoon olive oil and toss to coat.

4. Spread out in a single layer on the tray and bake for 35 minutes, or until golden and cooked through.

5. Sprinkle the flour on a plate and beat the egg in a shallow bowl. Whiz the bread in a food processor with the cheese (if using), 2 tablespoons of olive oil and a pinch of salt and pepper until fine, then tip on to a baking tray.

6. Line a second baking tray with baking paper.

7. Carefully slice each fish fillet in half lengthways (it doesn’t matter if they’re slightly different shapes). Turn each one in the flour until evenly coated, dip into the egg, letting any excess drip off, then turn in the breadcrumbs until well coated all over.

8. Transfer to the lined tray (at this stage you can freeze the fish fingers, so feel free to double up and have some extras for another day).

9. When the chips have 15 minutes to go, add the tray of fish fingers to the oven until golden and cooked through (cook them for 20 minutes if cooking straight from frozen).

10. Mix the ketchup and yoghurt together to make a shortcut Marie Rose sauce. Trim and finely shred the lettuce and slice the rolls in half.

11. Load up the bases of the rolls with a spoonful of the sauce and a handful of shredded lettuce, then place 2 fish fingers on each one, and pop the lids on. Serve the sweet potato chips alongside, and tuck in!

Recipe Tips

If making with children, always supervise small children when using the hob and sharp knives.

If you don’t have a food processor, you can make breadcrumbs by freezing the sliced bread and then grating it.

Tips for older children

Remember to wash your hands before you start cooking.

You will need to use a sharp knife in this recipe: if you’re not confident using kitchen knives ask an adult to help as knives can be dangerous.

If you are using a food processor, take care handling the sharp blades.

Consider asking an adult to help when using the oven. Make sure you use thick oven gloves to avoid burning yourself and remember that the shelves will be incredibly hot as well as the baking tray, so keep your arms well away.

Knockout fish finger sarnies