Fish Finger Focaccia Sandwich

Ingredients:

Serves two focaccia sandwiches.

Using green olive focaccia from a local bakery.

Crumbed Fish Fingers:

2 fish fillets, sliced into long pieces for fish fingers - I used cobia

1 egg, whisked

2 tbsp plain all-purpose flour

1 tsp celery salt

6 tbsp panko crumbs

1/4 cup olive oil - to fry

Dill Tartare Sauce:

2 tbsp kewpie mayo

1 tsp dijon mustard

2 tbsp dill, chopped

1 tbsp parsley, chopped

1 tsp onion powder

1 tsp extra virgin olive oil

1 garlic clove, minced

pinch of salt and fresh cracked black pepper

zest of a lemon and juice of 1/4 lemon

Olive and caper salsa:

2 tbsp capers, chopped

150g marinated green olives, pitted and sliced - mine were oregano and garlic

2 tbsp dill, chopped

1 dill pickle, diced

juice of 1/2 a lemon

pinch of salt

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Fennel and celery slaw:

1/4 whole fennel, sliced

2 stalks celery, sliced

1 tsp of the oily goodness at the bottom of our ‘olive and caper salsa’

squeeze of lemon juice, about 1 tsp

Method:

Make the olive and caper salsa by chopping capers, pickles and dill — and slicing olives. Add all ingredients to a mixing bowl and make sure it’s spoon-able with plenty of olive oil.

Mix up the dill tartare sauce by combining all the ingredients in a small mixing bowl. It should be thick and spreadable. Keep cold in the fridge whilst you prepare the rest of the ingredients.

Using a mandolin, or a sharp knife, slice the fennel and celery into super thin slices. Dip a teaspoon into the bottom of the olive and caper salsa, spooning up mostly olive oil and any bits that come with it, pouring it over the sliced fennel and celery. Squeeze over a tiny bit of lemon and combine together with your hands. Set aside.

To crumb the fish fingers, prepare three bowls, one with a whisked egg, another with flour and celery salt and another with panko crumbs. Slice the fish into thin strips for “fish fingers”.

Heat a pan over medium heat with 1/4 cup of olive oil or any other neutral oil. Wait until it is very hot, about 5 minutes. The oil may start to smoke! That’s your cue.

Dip the fish pieces into the flour first, covering it on all sides, and shaking off any excess, then the egg, doing the same to all sides and then the panko, pressing it into the fish to get a good crumb coat.

Drop into the hot oiled pan, frying on each side for 2-3 minutes or until a deep golden color has developed.

Leave to cool on a paper-towel lined plate. Salt immediately.

To plate, cut a focaccia loaf into two pieces to make a sandwich. Spoon dill tartare sauce on both sides. Put down a fish finger or two, a small handful of fennel and celery slaw and a spoonful of olive and caper salsa. Top with microgreens or arugula. Enjoy.