Healthy Fish and Chips

A healthy version on a tasty British classic, By Nutritionists from Daley Nutrition

Healthy Fish and Chips Recipe

As an English man I was brought up on deep fried fish and chips on a Friday night with the family. Then when my family and I went down to Devon on holiday we would make a special trip to Rick Stein’s restaurant for the best fish and chips on the planet. Then I completed my degrees in Nutrition and unfortunately I learned how horrifically high in saturated and trans fats this dish is, not to mention the high calories. However the recipe we have put together switches the potato chips for sweet potato wedges and the batter has a slight variation to but is not deep fried in batter, it is grilled in the oven saving fat and calorie consumption. Here are a few questions we have been asked in the past about cooking a healthy fish and chips dish.

Which oil should I use when cooking fish and chips with?

This is one of the most popular questions we have been asked over the years. The media are quick to promote the latest FAD oil as well as celebrity cooks and before you know it the public are completely lost as to which oils are the best. Lets start by focusing on the king of oils OLIVE OI. For hundreds of years olive oil has been used in the Mediterranean cuisine as the superior oil, this is oil we choose nine times out of ten. It has a high monounsaturated fat content, meaning that it is quite heat resistant as the general rule is the thicker the oil the better it is. The cheap olive oils really aren’t good for cooking with. Other relatively heat resistant oils are grape seed oil, canola oil, rice bran oil and avocado oil. Any oil that has a high polyunsaturated fat content is going to smoke easily and turn into a trans fat at high heats i.e. sunflower oil or flax-seed oil. For this healthy fish and chips dish we have used extra virgin olive oil from Cobram Estate in Victoria.

Are sweet potatoes better for you than traditional white potatoes?

This is a difficult question as both potatoes have got great nutritional properties. Sweet potatoes are high in beta-carotene, potassium and fibre and white potatoes have a high vitamin c and potassium content. The biggest difference is the starch (carbohydrate content). White potatoes do have more calories pound for pound and tend to be used more in the processed food world as crisps and chips. We have chosen to use sweet potatoes in our healthy fish and chips recipes as we prefer the flavour and colour.

Top Tip for cooking fish in the oven:

Make sure you have a fan forced oven, this helps to evenly cook the fish
Always add lemon juice to fish, it maintains moisture levels and balances out the fishy taste.

Ingredients (serves 2 people)

For the Sweet Potato Chips

1 medium sized sweet potato 200g
1 tbsp of olive oil
1 tsp of cracked pepper
1/2 tsp of mixed herbs (if needed)

The Fish

It doesn’t really matter which fish you consume as long as it is fresh and not shark based or Marlon (unsustainable).
Good choices are snapper, flounder, wild salmon and trout.
Use 115g of fish, which is a medium sized fillet
4 tbsp of crushed cornflakes
2 eggs
1 tsp. of pepper
1 tsp. of dill (fresh or dried)
1/2 tsp. of lemon rind
1 tsp. of olive oil
1 tsp. of lemon juice.

The Peas

Cook your peas how you like them, microwaved, mushed in a pan or minted.

Method

Using a sharp knife, chop the sweet potatoes into wedges, 1 medium potato can make at least 10 wedges.
Put onto an oven tray, then add the olive oil and herbs and spices and mix. Then cook for 20mins on 180degrees.
Whisk eggs in a bowl and add lemon juice.
Mix crushed cornflakes, pepper, lemon rind and dill together in large bowl.
Dip fish fillets in egg mixture then coat in cornflake mixture.
Wrap in baking paper and then foil and put on oven tray.
Add to the oven for 13mins.
Turn the oven off and leave the fish and chips in the oven until you have prepared the salad and peas. Then serve and enjoy!

Healthy Fish and Chips Nutrition (per person)

Nutrition info coming soon

Healthy Fish and Chips
Posted by Luke Daley, Registered Nutritionist, Msc, BSc (Hons)
Director and Founder of Daley Nutrition

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A little about us….Daley Nutrition is a community nutrition team based in Melbourne Victoria, we run a range of nutrition based programs such as corporate wellness programs and cooking demonstrations in Australia to raise people’s awareness of what they are eating and empower them to change certain eating habits. We work with not for profit organisations such as local councils, Diabetes Australia & Nutrition Australia to create a healthy eating environment for children and adults.

To find out more about our Nutrition Services below images