My pescetarian daughter just dove into swim season at school. Before she left for her first practice, she had a very specific request: “I’m going to need protein. Can you please make fish tonight with some kind of yummy sauce?” Challenge accepted!
I immediately decided to make classic panko-crusted white fish with a mayo-and-something or sour cream-and-something sauce I’d figure out later. But when the time came to start assembling dinner, I found my pantry severely lacking in panko. Staring out at a cold, dark night packed with rush-hour traffic, there was no way I was venturing to the grocery store. It was time to get creative.
My eyes fell upon a bag of tortilla chips – salty, crushable tortilla chips. Brilliant! A little lime and chili powder, and dinner just fell into place. The dish was ready as soon as my chlorine-perfumed daughter entered the house. Since I barely managed to snap a photo of these nuggets before my swimmer devoured them, it’s safe to say I’ll be making them again soon.
Tortilla-Crusted Fish Nuggets with Spicy Dipping Sauce 3 to 4 servings
½ cup sour cream
3 Tbsp. lime juice, divided
1½ tsp. chili powder, divided
2 cups ground tortilla chips (about 5 cups whole chips)
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
Kosher salt to taste
1 lb. cod, cut into 1- to 2-inch pieces
Canola oil for frying
• To make the dipping sauce, mix together the sour cream, 1 tablespoon lime juice and ½ teaspoon chili powder in a small bowl. Set aside.
• In a shallow pan or bowl, season the ground tortilla chips with the remaining 1 teaspoon chili powder and pepper. Taste and add salt if needed.
• In a medium bowl, toss the cod with the remaining 2 tablespoons lime juice, then roll them in the ground tortilla chips, pressing the crumbs onto the fish to coat on all sides.
• Meanwhile, fill a deep skillet with about 1-inch of canola oil over medium-high heat. When oil is hot enough to fry (test by dropping a pinch of ground tortilla chips into the oil; if it bubbles, the oil is ready), carefully fry about 6 nuggets at a time, cooking on all sides until browned, about 1 minute per side. Use a slotted spoon to remove them to a paper towel-lined plate and repeat with the remaining nuggets. Serve immediately with the dipping sauce.
This article appears in December 2014.