Tonight's Dinner: Fish po'boys recipe

Because the white fishes are such mild flavored fish, they make the perfect dinner choices. And covering them with cornmeal makes them into the healthy fish stick all kids will love.

Cornmeal crusted fish makes a great sandwich

Everyone knows how healthy fish is to eat: It reduces risk of heart attack and cancer and lowers blood pressure. Yet the average American only eats a paltry three ounces of fish per week. That's less than half the eight ounces the USDA recommends. Most don't know which fish to buy or, more commonly, how to prepare it. That coupled with the fact that kids tend to turn their noses up at seafood, make it one of the least common dinner choices. But I've discovered a way to ingest at least four ounces of fish a week and keep the kids smiling while they're devouring it... and no they're not store-bought fish sticks. They're homemade fish po'boys.

Why is this fish sandwich recipe the perfect Friday night dinner? Not only are the fillets covered in a delicious cornmeal crust, they're placed on a sandwich roll and slathered with a tangy mayonnaise sauce. Sure your kids may be like mine and prefer ketchup to the tartar sauce, but if it means they'll be eating the fish, why argue? I didn't and my son ate his whole sandwich... and asked for seconds. Yes!

Fish po'boys recipes

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 3 tablespoons mayonnaise
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 1 teaspoon lime zest
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/3 cup cornmeal
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 4 tilapia fillets (about 4 ounces each)
• 4 sandwich rolls, split in half lengthwise
• 1 tomato, sliced

Directions:

1. In a small bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, lemon juice, lime zest and garlic powder; set aside.
2. In a large bowl, sift together the cornmeal, salt and pepper.
3. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Dredge each fillet in the cornmeal mixture and place in the skillet. Cook the fish until it flakes easily, three to four minutes per side.
4. To assemble the sandwich: Slather both sides of the roll with the mayonnaise mixture. Then place the fish fillet and tomato slices on one side of the roll. Cover with the other half of the roll and serve.

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Other fish recipes

Bayou catfish bits
Caesar's fish
Fish chowder