You know, panko crumbs. And coconut. Stretching that too far? Well, that’s what they remind us of – sorry! Alright, well, no matter what you call these – they’ll remind you of coconut shrimp. But they’re fish sticks! We served these with two “normal” eating young boys and they were licking their lips and asking for more.
The whole idea came from Stacy finding fish on super sale at the super market. Now, we have made a vow to only consume sustainable and humane meat. However, knowing that it was 8pm at night and the meat was about to be thrown out if we didn’t buy it at 75% off – it seemed a smart move to take it home and freeze it for when we were ready to come up with a good plan for it.
Although we eat a LOT of canned fish, it’s not exactly a filling, affordable protein source – so it’s not something we frequently cook with. A few weeks after the fish purchase, Cole was asking about the difference of “chips”, “crisps” and “french fries”. We reminded him of the Fish & Chips we’d made last year and he remembered we’d called those fries, “chips.”
The “problem” with inquisitive children is you often find yourself going on adventures with their curiosities. So, since we had “crisps” (potato chips to us Yanks) in the house, we decided to make fish sticks and invited some friends over to join us.
Pankoconut Fish Sticks
Ingredients
1 C almond flour
1 C coconut flakes
2 tsp salt
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp dill
1/2 tsp lemon pepper
1/2 C olive oil
3 lbs. white fish, cut into 1″ slices
Instructions
- ♥ Combine flour, coconut, and spices in food processor and pulse into a meal
- ♥ Place mixture into a small bowl
- ♥ Pour oil into a separate bowl
- ♥ Dip each fish into oil, then meal, then place on baking sheet
- Bake for 20 minutes at 350 degrees until lightly browned and cooked through
As with all Paleo Parents recipes, any step marked with a ♥ can be performed by littles.
Of course, what fish and crisp dinner would be complete without a sauce to go with it? I had some mangoes and tomato, so we made a sauce out of that to go with the tropical/coconut fish.
Spicy Mango Salsa
Ingredients
2 mangoes, diced (we used canned in juice, 1 can’s worth)
2 tomatoes, diced (we used canned)
1 green chile, diced (we used canned – yes, it was an easy meal!)
1/2 C pineapple chunks (canned in juice OK here too)
juice of one lemon
Instructions
- Place all ingredients in food processor and puree until smooth
This sauce is a perfect spicy-sweet sauce to complement your fish! You’ll end up with A LOT more than you’ll use for just the fish sticks, so stick it in the fridge and use it to dip just about anything.
Well, now that we had a extravagant meal, who were we going to share it with? Why now our friends who bear delicious gifts, of course! Our regular dinner companion, Liz & her 2 sons, brought a delicious salad with bacon, avocado, and tomatoes. She also brought a pineapple for Pineapple Upside Down Cake. She’s always welcome bearing those gifts!