Crispy fish sandwich with lemony dill mayo
This is not just a regular sandwich; I’ve Chelseafied it a bit. The best thing about it is the gorgeous lemony dill mayo – it’s creamy, zingy and positively sings with flavour. After all, a sandwich without mayo, might not actually be a sandwich at all… at least to me. If you have some left, keep it in the fridge for a couple of days and use it as a sauce for meat or even a dip. There’s nothing wrong with buying your own mayo for the base – just make sure it’s a good quality one.
Serves 4
Prep time – 10 minutes
Cooking time – 10 minutes
Ingredients
Rice bran or grapeseed oil, for frying
500g firm, fresh white fish fillets, skinless & boneless (I used terakihi)
½ cup flour
2 free-range eggs, lightly beaten
1 ½ cup panko crumbs (or use normal breadcrumbs)
1 loaf fresh white bread (or use pitas, burger buns, wraps etc.)
Lettuce leaves, washed (I like iceberg or baby cos)
Optional – tomato, cucumber, gherkin, cheese
Lemony dill mayo
½ cup mayonnaise
1 bunch fresh dill, chopped (about 3 tbsp chopped)
2 tbsp finely chopped parsley
1 ½ tbsp finely chopped shallot
1 clove NZ garlic, crushed
Zest of 1 lemon
3 tsp Dijon mustard
2 tsp lemon juice
½ tsp ground white pepper
Method
To make the mayo, add the ingredients to a non-metallic bowl and stir to combine. Season with salt to taste, and extra lemon juice if you like. If you think you need more sauce, add a little more mayo. Set aside until needed.
Lay the fish on a board and generously season with fish on both sides with salt and pepper.
Add the flour to a plate, and the panko crumbs to a bowl.
Dredge a fish fillet in the flour to coat, then dip in the bowl of beaten egg. Let the excess drip off, then coat in the panko crumbs, pressing down to get a good even coverage. Set aside and repeat with the remaining fish. Refrigerate until needed (an hour or so tops).
Heat ¼ cup of oil in a large frying pan over a medium-high heat. When the oil is hot (if you put the end of a wooden spoon in, the oil should form bubbles around it).
If you like, butter the bread with some pure NZ butter (it melts when the fish goes in).
Spread a good dollop of the mayo on the bread and top with some crumbed fish and lettuce (and anything else you fancy). Squash a lid down and take a bite.