Baked Fish & Chips

If I were to list my top 5 favorite things to eat, fish and chips would definitely be on that list. I tried it for the first time at a street vendor in Brighton, England (a really cute town on the southern coast! I went during the summer of 2007 with my aunt and uncle, and we went down to the boardwalk one afternoon.) I actually didn't really like fish and chips it the first time I tried it. Salt and vinegar hadn't really become a common flavor combo in the U.S. yet, so I think my taste buds just weren't used to it. I'm not really sure when I started liking it, but sometime between my first fish and chips experience and now, I have fallen in love.

Obviously, battered and deep fried fish and "chips," which we Americans like to call fries, is not healthy. I came up with this recipe...a conglomeration of about 6 different recipes I found online...for a baked version, hoping that I could find a tasty alternative. 

Ingredients:

For the fish:

1 lb. firm white fish, cut into 1 1/2 in. wide strips (I found recipes that used cod, pollock, halibut, tilapia...basically it doesn't matter, just use what you like. Cod was on sale, so that's what I used)

S&P

2 cups panko bread crumbs, whole wheat if you can find them

1 tsp seafood seasoning, such as Old Bay

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp onion powder

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

4 large egg whites

Olive Oil cooking spray

Malt Vinegar for serving

For the chips:

3 medium baking potatoes, cut into 1/4 in. wide sticks

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Salt to taste

Pinch of cayenne pepper

Directions (these came from this recipe: baked fish and chips. I changed them a little bit to include my ingredients):

Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat to 450 degrees F using the convection setting, if available. Place a baking sheet on one of the racks to preheat.

Prepare the chips: Toss the potato sticks with the olive oil and cayenne in a bowl. Carefully remove the hot baking sheet from the oven, add the potatoes and spread in an even layer. Use a rubber spatula to scrape any oil from the bowl over the potatoes. Bake on the top oven rack, turning once, until browned and crisp, 25 to 30 minutes. Season with salt.

Meanwhile, make the fish: Set a wire rack on a baking sheet and coat with cooking spray. Put the panko crumbs in a plate or shallow dish. Add seafood seasoning, onion powder, garlic powder, cayenne, and S&P to taste. In a bowl, whisk the egg whites and a pinch of salt until frothy.

Dip the fish in the egg whites, then roll in the bread crumbs to coat. Place the fish pieces on the rack (position them on their sides so that the majority of the crust is exposed) and mist with cooking spray.

Bake the fish on the bottom oven rack until crisp and just cooked through, about 12 minutes. Serve the fish and chips with tartar sauce and/or malt vinegar, if desired.

Taste Rating: 7.5

According to Brink, it was really good but not heavy. He went back for extra helpings, so I'm assuming he liked it. I liked it too. It's probably not something I would make for like a dinner party, but it was still a really tasty weekday meal!

Easy Rating: 7

The potatoes were kind of a pain to cut, but that's pretty typical with potatoes. The fish was easy. Just dip in the egg, roll in the breadcrumbs, and put it on a cookie sheet. 

Overall Rating: 7.5