Coconut Almond Panko Cod Sticks

COCONUT ALMOND PANKO COD STICKS WITH DIJON TARTAR DIPPING SAUCE

I love fried fish. But we don’t do a ton of frying, so we do opt to do baked fish often. If I do a crust on it, there’s always panko involved.

I use super fine raw almond flour mixed in with all purpose flour as part of the batter. This is what the fish sticks should look like before going in the oven.

Gotta have a good tartar sauce. I like to add capers to mine for that extra saltiness.

You’ll need about 1.5-2 pounds of thick cod filets, and it’s fine if they are frozen. But I prefer fish that I freeze from the seafood counter in grocery stores. I don’t like to thaw pre-packed frozen fish or meat for cooking meals.

You’ll need 3 separate bowls for the batter dipping. I tend to cut off the thin ends of the fish filets first. Then I cut them vertically in half, then horizontally in half so that you get similar sized sticks. Dab these off in paper towels so that they aren’t heavy with water. Also, PLEASE rinse the fish. Cod doesn’t smell particularly wonderful even when fresh.

COCONUT ALMOND PANKO COD STICKS WITH DIJON TARTAR DIPPING SAUCE RECIPE

Ingredients

• 1.5-2 lbs cod filets (2-3 large filets)

• 1 cup super fine raw almond flour

• 1/2 cup AP flour

• 1 tablespoon cayenne pepper

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 2 egg yolks

• 3/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut

• 1 cup panko bread crumbs

• 1 tablespoon dried parsley

• 1 tablespoon black pepper

• fresh parsley, chopped for topping

Tartar Sauce Ingredients

• 1/2 cup mayonnaise

• 2 tablespoons dijon mustard

• 2 tablespoons chopped capers

• 1/2 lemon, squeezed

• 1 tablespoon black pepper

• 1 tablespoon relish chopped

• 1 tablespoon horseradish sauce

Instructions

Set oven to 400°F. Set a baking rack tray (like in picture above) on a baking tray and set aside for when you’re doing the fish sticks.

Get 3 shallow bowls for your assembly line of batter. The first is the flour, ingredients 2-5. The second bowl is the eggs, beaten lightly. Third is the remaining ingredients.

Once you’ve cut your fish sticks as described above, line them up and dip them to coat in each bowl, I only do 2-3 max, because your hands will get very sticky, and I tend to wash my hands between each set of fish sticks to avoid wasting too much of the batter.

As you batter the fish sticks, line them up on the baking rack/tray. You may need to do 2 trays separately, or if you have a double oven, even better.

Once you have a full tray, bake for 25 minutes or until golden brown slightly.

For the tartar sauce, simply mix all ingredients together.

We used Idaho potato fries as our side, and pour them out on a platter, family style!