When I was 12, I’d rush home from school to eat fried fish. It was piping hot, flaky, and delicious. And of course, I’d have it with a side of ranch dressing. [feigned surprise]
Maybe it’s the nostalgia of eating crunchy fish that excites me or maybe it’s the simple fact that these are just so good. Using salmon in place of your typical cod works magically in this recipe, resulting in a fish stick that is rich, bold, and full of flavor.
And because I can’t not dip things with things, I made a lovely lemon aioli to go along with. These Parmesan salmon fish sticks are super satisfying, healthy-ish, and pretty freakin’ awesome.
Notes
adapted from giada de laurentiis
Ingredients
for the fish sticks:
- 1 – 20 ounce salmon filet, skinned
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 3 egg whites
- 1 cup grated parmesan cheese
- 1 cup panko
- olive oil, for drizzling
for the lemon aioli:
- 1 cup mayonnaise, preferably homemade
- zest of 1 lemon
- juice of 1 lemon
- 1 small garlic clove
- salt
- black pepper
Instructions
for the fish sticks:
- pat salmon dry. cut salmon into 1/2″ slices lengthwise; if center cut slices look too wide, cut those in half.
- preheat the oven to 450 degrees. grab a large baking sheet and liberally oil with olive oil.
- in a shallow plate, mix the flour with the salt and pepper. in a shallow bowl, whisk egg whites until frothy, about a minute. in another shallow plate, combine the parmesan cheese and panko, seasoning with some salt and pepper.
- dip each fish stick into the flour until fully coated and then shake excess. next, swish it into the egg whites; letting excess drip off. last, dredge in parmesan and panko mix until totally coated, pressing firmly. arrange on oiled baking sheet. drizzle all fish sticks with olive oil. bake for 15-20 minutes or until crispy. serve with lemon aioli
for the lemon aioli:
- in a medium bowl, combine the mayonnaise, lemon zest and juice. roughly chop garlic with a pinch of salt and rub with side of knife to make a paste. add this and a pinch of black pepper to the mayonnaise. whisk together.
// other fishy things