Fish Sticks with Tartar Sauce

Before I dive into the recipe (see what I did there? “Dive.” Fish? Okay never mind clearly I’ve had too much coffee) I want to start off by saying that these are nothing (and I stress nothing) like the store-bought fish sticks you had as a kid. Namely because they actually taste good, are healthy, and are both kid and adult approved. They’re also gluten-free, which is great if can’t tolerate gluten like myself. 😉

The recipe for these delicious fish sticks came from one of my favourite cookbooks, Clean Eats by Alejandro Junger. Clean Eats is a fantastic cookbook filled with over 200 hunger-inducing recipes designed to reset your body’s natural balance; which is a fancy way of saying that they’re nutritious. If you don’t own a copy of the cookbook, I highly recommend that you pick one up. You will not be disappointed. 😉

In the meantime, bake up a batch of these super yummy fish sticks. I’m confident that they will forever change your opinion of fish sticks.

Enjoy!

Nicole

Serves 2, but you can easily double or tripe the recipe

Ingredients

For the Fish Sticks

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1/2 cup or more of almond flour
2 large pasture raised eggs, whisked
1/2 cup or more of coconut flour
2 tablespoons lemon pepper seasoning
1 pound flounder fillets, sliced into 3/4 inch wide strips. **You can substitute any firm white fish. Look for ocean wise sustainable seafood
3/4 cup coconut oil, divided
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 lemon cut into wedges

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For the tartar sauce

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3/4 cup vegan sour cream or homemade mayonnaise (see below for recipes)
2 tablespoons minced shallot
1 dill pickle

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Instructions

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First make the tartar sauce. In a medium bowl, fold into your choice of either sour cream or mayonnaise the minced shallot and pickle. Set the sauce aside
To bread the fish, place the almond flour, whisked eggs, and coconut flour, stirring to combine. Coat the fish fillet completely in almond flour, then shake off the excess. Next, dip the fillet into the eggs, followed by the coconut flour mixture. Lightly pat the coconut flour into the fillet and set it aside(on a baking sheet is a great and easy cleanup). Repeat this with all the fillets.
Heat roughly half the coconut oil in a large skillet. When the oil is hot, add the fish (but don’t overcrowd the pan). Fry the fillets until they are golden brown, flipping after 3 minutes so they cook about 3 minutes per side.
Transfer the cooked fish to a paper towel to drain any excess oil. Add more oil to the pan as needed to cook all the fish. Season the fillets well with sea salt and pepper, and serve warm with lemon wedges and tartar sauce.

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Homemade Vegan Sour Cream

Ingredients

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1 cup raw pine nuts
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 cup water

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Instructions

In a blender, puree all the ingredients until the mixture is smooth, thick and creamy. Store the sour cream in a container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.

Homemade Mayonnaise

You will never want store bought mayonnaise again after you try this, trust me. 😉

Ingredients

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2 pasture-raised egg yolks
1 tablespoon whole grain mustard
2 tablespoons lemon juice
Sea salt to taste
Up to 2 cups extra virgin olive oil or avocado oil. **Always use extra virgin olive oil that is cold pressed and in a dark glass bottle and do not heat past medium heat

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Instructions

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In a food processor or blender, combine the egg yoks, mustard, lemon juice, and sea salt.
Very slowly, drop by drop, add the oil. The mixture will slowly begin to emulsify. When the mayonnaise starts to emulsify, you may add the oil in a faster stream, but be mindful that if the oil is added to quickly or too much is added at one time, the emulsification can break and you’ll have to start over again.
Once you have slowly poured in 1 1/2 cups of the oil, you can additionally season the mayonnaise to taste.
Store in the fridge. It keeps for one week or more.

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