This recipe is a little bit naughty, a little bit nice and a whole lot of yum. I love sourdough bread and using it fresh to crumb fish creates the most delicate crisp coating. The fennel seeds and slaw add freshness to the crispy fish. Perfect.

I’ve used King George whiting, flat head and flounder when trialling these fish burgers. The best option was the King George whiting as the butterflied fillets are the perfect size for a burger and the fish gets nice and crisp and isn’t too soft hen you bite into it. The flounder was realy nice but you need to cut it to size for the burgers, the flathead works well too but you need to cut the pieces in half and place the two halves side by side in the roll which is a little messier! Long story short, King George Whiting was the best! It’s also a sustainable option in my corner of the world:) Feel free to send me a message or comment below to discuss other options for making these fish burgers in your part of the world.

I love these sourdough crumbed fish burgers with a tartare sauce and I tried to make this one a little lighter than the regular mayonnaise heavy version by using yoghurt. Full fat yoghurt still obviously contains fat but that, along with the protein content, makes it filling. It’s also a great source of calcium, you could replace it with a non dairy yoghurt but coconut yoghurt would change the flavour profile. The sauce is used to both slather over the burger buns and to dress the slaw. It’s a multi tasking clever sort of sauce.

The sourdough crumbs have more flavour than regular breadcrumbs and the hint on aniseed flavour from the fennel seeds is perfect with the fish. I seasoned this with a little vegetable stock powder, I use an organic version without any crazy numbers in it and it just adds such a yummy flavour but you could replace this with garlic granules and salt instead. The flour can be gluten free, I’ve listed an extra 3 Tbs in the ingredients list as I use this when using very fresh bread crumbs rather than stale bread to make sure the crumbs aren’t moist. if they’re too moist getting a golden finish is a little more difficult.

Speaking of the bread, I’m lucky enough to be surrounded by amazing bakeries in my ‘hood and one of them sells this porridge loaf that I used the first time I made these burgers. When I blitzed it, it sort of blitzed into circular balls of crumb that were sticking together. I added the flower and then used them to crumb the fish and it was the crispiest fish of all time, probably because there was more surface area to crisp as the round crumbs don’t sit flat. This same effect happens no matter what fresh bread crumb I use but it was next level with the porridge bread, probably because it’s such a moist loaf. Okay enough about bread.

When cooking the fish you need enough oil to generously coat the pan as if you cook the crumbs on a dry pan they will toast and not become golden. The crumbs offer a bit of protection to the delicate flesh of the fish so that you have a crispy exterior without over cooking the fish. Crumbed fish is a childhood favourite of mine and cooking it at home makes it so much better for me than buying it deep fried from the fish and chip shop. This recipe might not be every day food but it’s such a firm favourite of mine I couldn’t not share. Make them this weekend, find the best quality fish you can and treat yo’self.

Serves 4

Ingredients

350g delicately flavoured white fish such as King George whiting, flathead, flounder, or dory, cut into burger sized portions if need be

3 cups fresh sourdough crumbs

2/3 cups + 3 Tbs flour of choice

1 tsp vegetable stock powder

2 tsps fennel seeds

2 eggs, lightly beaten

350g delicate white fish fillets, no bones (you need enough for 4 serves, if using King George Whiting this will be 4 butterflied whiting, skin on is fine)

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

4 fresh bread rolls (i used a naturally leavened sourdough roll but have also made these with hamburger buns!)

1 Avocado, finely sliced

Tartare Sauce

1 cup thick greek yoghurt

2 tsp apple cider vinegar

1 Tbs finely chopped capers

4 dill pickles, finely chopped

zest of 1 lemon

1 tsp lemon juice

1/4 cup finely chopped dill

Slaw

1/4 green cabbage, shredded

1/3 cup finely chopped spring onion

1/4 cup finely chopped dill

1/4 cup finely chopped parsley

Directions

Prepare your tartare sauce by mixing all the ingredients togehter in a medium sized bowl.

Toss the slaw ingredients together and add 1/4 cup of the tartare sauce, toss again to coat the slaw in the sauce. Set aside.

Place your eggs, flour and breadcrumbs in separate, wide shallow bowls. Add the stock powder, extra 3 Tbs of flour (only use if your bread crumbs are moist) and fennel seeds to the breadcrumbs and toss with your hands to mix through. Set up a wire rack to place coated fish on.

Coat a piece of fish lightly in the flour, then the egg and then the breadcrumbs. Press the crumbs in firmly so they coat the entire piece of fish. Lay on the wire racks and repeat with the other 3 pieces of fish.

Heat the oil in a large heavy based fry pan on medium high heat (large enough for all 4 fillets or cook in batches. Once hot (test with a stray bread crumb, if it sizzles it’s ready) add the fish and cook for a few minutes, or until golden. Flip the fish and repeat on that side. Remove the fish from the pan and place on a clean wire rack.

While the pan is stil hot lightly toast the bread rolls by placing the cut side down in the pan. Remove spread either side with tartare sauce, top the bottom half with avocado and then follow with the fish and slaw.

Eat with both hands 😉

HH. x