Crumbed Fysh with Tartar Sauce

Fish are friends not food. We all know that! But if you want to enjoy a piece of fish without actually harming any real fishies - I got your back!

I only recently discovered the magic of banana blossom when Nature’s Charm sent me a surprise pack of their goodies to try and tinned banana blossom was amongst those. I had a little look online at what other people had created with the blossoms - but literally of the crumbed fish recipes were made with a normal flour or flour and beer batter, and then deep fried. Not gonna happen for me!

So I thought I’d give a gluten free, oven baked version a crack, and wow! That is all I can say!

The texture after baking is soft, juicy and flakes apart, eerily similar to fish ‘flesh’. Thanks to the crunchy, flavoursome crumbing and the saltiness of the brine and dulse, it just tasted like everything I remember crumbed fish to be. Kind of scary what you can create from plants. But also super cool!

Served with a roasted pumpkin salad and homemade vegan tartar sauce, this makes a perfect summery lunch or fancy dinner when you have guests around. Or why not serve it with baked potato chips instead for a wholesome, plant based fysh and chips?!

Make sure you tag me if you try out the recipe!!

Ingredients:

• 1 can banana blossoms, 260g drained weight (I got mine from Nature’s Charm)

• 1 tsp dulse flakes, optional

• 1/4 cup unsweetened plant based milk

• 3 tbsp chickpea flour

• 2 tsp vegan fysh sauce, or miso paste

• 2 tbsp Nutritional yeast

• 3 tbsp polenta (cornmeal)

• 2 tbsp brown rice flour

• 1 tsp garlic powder

• 1 tsp onion powder

For the tartar:

• 1/2 cup plain vegan yoghurt (coconut or soy, choose a thick one!)

• 1 tsp Dijon mustard

• 1 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped

• 1 tbsp dill pickles, chopped

• 1 tbsp capers, chopped

• Black pepper, to taste

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 200°C and line a tray with baking paper.

2. Drain banana blossoms, rinse off the brine and pat dry with a paper towel. Sprinkle with dulse flakes.

3. In a shallow bowl, combine milk, chickpea flour and fysh sauce to make a batter.

4. In a separate shallow bowl or plate, combine nutritional yeast, polenta, rice flour, garlic powder and onion powder for the crumb.

5. Dip banana blossoms first in the batter, then in the crumbing to coat, and place on baking tray.

6. Bake for 20-30 minutes or until golden and crispy.

7. Meanwhile, to make the tartar sauce, combine all ingredients and mix well.

8. Serve crumbed fysh together with tartar (see Notes for serving suggestions!).

Notes:

• Serving suggestions: Delicious with a side of salad and baked pumpkin or sweet potato/potato chips!