I love this make-at-home takeaway alternative for a treat dinner. Crispy fish burger with easy garlic lemon mayo and a pile of crispy and totally addictive shoestring fries. A great way to get the kids (and husband) to eat more fish! Never made shoestring fries before? I'll show you how, plus some tips to make sure they're perfectly crispy!
100ml(1/2 cup minus 1 tbsp) of good quality mayonnaise
1tbsplemon juice
1small clove of minced garlic
2tbspchopped chives
Instructions
Preheat oven to 190C/375F (fan).
Make the lemon garlic mayo by mixing all of the mayo ingredients together.
1 tbsp lemon juice, 1 small clove of minced garlic, 2 tbsp chopped chives, 100 ml (1/2 cup minus 1 tbsp) of good quality mayonnaise
Half-fill a deep, heavy-based pan with vegetable oil and heat – in preparation for cooking the skinny fries. Use a mandoline or food chopper to ‘julienne’ the potatoes (no need to peel). Place the julienne potatoes on some kitchen roll and pat to remove excess water
vegetable oil, 3 medium-sized potatoes
Put the flour, beaten egg, and breadcrumbs on 3 large plates. Mix the salt and pepper into the flour. Mix the paprika into the breadcrumbs. Dip each piece of fish in turn into the flour, egg, and finally the breadcrumbs, shaking off any excess as you go. Heat the oil in the frying pan, then fry the fish burgers on a medium heat for about 3 mins on each side, until golden and crisp (Note 1). Finish them off in the oven for about 5 minutes
50 g (1/2 cup minus 1 tbsp) plain (all-purpose) flour, 2 eggs, 150 g (3 cups) breadcrumbs, pinch salt and pepper, 1/2 tsp paprika, 2 tbsp vegetable oil, 4 small fillets of white fish
Whilst the fish burgers are finishing off in the oven, deep fry the skinny fries for 1 1/2-2 minutes until golden brown (check the oil is hot enough first by dropping a couple of fries in. If they sizzle and rise straight to the top it’s hot enough). Be careful when placing the skinny fries in the oil as the oil may boil over. You may need to cook the fries in a couple of batches to prevent this. Drain the fries and season with salt. If you do need to cook more than one batch, I’ve found it best to drain your first batch and leave them in a bowl lined with kitchen roll. Then throw them back in the hot oil for 20 seconds before serving. Trying to keep the fries warm in the oven can either overcook and burn them, or make them go a bit soft.
salt
Place the bottom half of each roll onto a plate, top with lettuce, add the fish burger, and finish with some lemon garlic mayo before topping with the other half of the bun. Serve with the skinny fries.
4 toasted brioche rolls, 8 lettuce leaves
Video
Notes
Note 1: No-fry (oven baked) version of the fish -If you don't want to fry the fish, simply stir 1 tbsp of the oil into the breadcrumbs, along with the paprika. Dip the fish in the flour, then egg, then breadcrumbs and place the breaded fish fillets onto a baking tray. Drizzle on the remaining tablespoon of oil. Bake for 10-12 minutes at 190C/375F until cooked through and golden.Need a gluten free version?For a gluten free version, you can replace the plain flour with gluten free plain flour blend. Replace the breadcrumbs and buns with gluten free versions too.Make ahead?You can coat the fish in the breadcrumbs, then cover and refrigerate up to a day ahead. The coating will soften, but it will crispy up during the cooking process.The shoestrings fries can't be made ahead unfortunately.Which Potatoes?Any floury red or white skinned potato is fine. Maris Pipers or Rooster potatoes are a great choice.Breadcrumbs tip:Whenever I have leftover slightly stale or fresh bread, I like to pulse it in a food processor to form breadcrumbs, then place it in a bag in the freezer. No need to portion it - the breadcrumbs should be dry, so they shouldn't stick together. This means you can always grab a cupful of homemade breadcrumbs from the bag whenever you need them..Nutritional Info is per serving - including burger, fries and mayo. I've accounted for 90ml (1/3 cup) of vegetable being absorbed as part of the deep frying process for the fries.