Recipe of the week: turmeric fish fingers with tartare sauce

This is a great recipe to make with kids, say Nicole Pisani and Joanna Weinberg. The turmeric adds a golden colour to the crumb and the oats provide an unusual, knobbly texture. They are quite delicate to work with, so take your time.

Ingredients: feeds 4 (makes 8)

• Drizzle of olive oil
• 100g plain flour
• 2 free-range eggs
• 75g panko breadcrumbs
• ½ tsp Chinese five spice
• 5 heaped tbsp oats
• 1 tsp ground turmeric
• 500g pollock (or similar), cut into 10cm x 2cm pieces
• 1 lime or lemon, cut into wedges, to serve
• sea salt and black pepper

For the tartare sauce

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• 170g mayonnaise
• 30g green pitted olives, finely chopped
• 25g capers, finely chopped
• 60g gherkins, finely chopped
• small bunch of dill, roughly chopped
• small bunch of chervil or parsley, roughly chopped
• 1 tsp lemon juice

Method

• Preheat the oven to 220°C fan/240°C/ 475°F/gas mark 9
• Line a large oven tray with a baking mat, drizzled with a little olive oil.
• Prepare the dipping stations. Line up three lipped plates: In the first, place the flour with a big pinch of salt and pepper, and mix to combine. In the second, crack the eggs and whisk lightly with a fork. In the third, add the panko breadcrumbs, five spice, oats, turmeric and 1⁄4 teaspoon of salt, and stir to combine.
• Find a partner and assign duties – one person covers the fish in flour, then dips it in the egg, while the other person rolls the fish fingers in the breadcrumb mix and then places them on the lined baking tray.
• Drizzle the fish fingers with a little more oil and bake for 15 minutes until golden brown and the fish is opaque.
• To make the tartare, simply stir all the ingredients together.
• Serve the fish fingers with the tartare and a wedge of lime or lemon.
• Chef’s notes: if you like bold flavours, up the Chinese five spice to ¾ of a teaspoon.

Chefs in Schools is a charity that works with schools to improve the food they offer to children. Nicole Pisani is its co-founder, while Joanna Weinberg is one of its patrons. Recipe taken from Feed Your Family: Exciting Recipes from Chefs in Schools! by Nicole Pisani and Joanna Weinberg, published by Pavilion Books at £14.99. To buy from TheWeek Bookshop for £11.99, call 020-3176 3835 or visit theweekbookshop.co.uk.