Healthy Holiday Recipe: Crispy Sesame Seed Fish

Why not improve your eating habits this festive season by cutting back on red meat? Yes, you’ll likely be invited to barbecues and cookouts where various forms of red meat will be on the table, but that doesn’t mean that you’ll have to indulge. In fact, swapping out red meat for fatty fish may be exactly what your health needs this festive season.

Crispy Sesame Seed Fish

Ditch store-bought crumbed fish and make this easy, wholesome version from scratch. Taken from the “Cooking from the Heart: DASH Edition Cookbook” courtesy of Pharma Dynamics, this recipe involves sesame seeds that form a crispy coating. Sesame seeds aren’t just a great snack option and cool hamburger bun topping, but they’re also a great dose of antioxidants, B vitamins, and healthy fats.

In terms of the recipe, the lemon rind and herbs go perfectly with the fish, with no need for any added salt.

Ingredients

• 300 ml raw sesame seeds
• finely grated rind of 4 lemons
• 3⁄4 cup (180 ml) chopped fresh parsley
• 1⁄2 cup (125 ml) cake flour
• 200 ml plain low-fat yogurt
• 900 g-1 kg frozen fish portions, like hake, lightly thawed for an hour (about 6 large or 12 small portions)

Preparation

1. Heat a frying pan over medium heat. Toast sesame seeds, without any oil, until golden brown. Take care, these burn easily. Remove and allow cooling.
2. Preheat oven to 200 °C. Lightly grease an oven dish with a bit of oil.
3. Mix lemon rind, parsley, and sesame seeds together on a flat plate.
4. Spoon flour and yogurt onto two separate flat plates. Dust the fish portions lightly in flour, then lightly coat the fish in yogurt. Roll the fish in the sesame seed mixture until evenly coated.
5. Place fish portions in an oven dish. Bake for 30 minutes, or until lightly golden and the fish flakes easily.
6. Serve warm with a fresh salad, sweet potato & bean mash or baby potatoes in the skin, and lemon wedges.

Alternative:

1. This sesame crumble will be delicious on chicken fillets. Bake for 20 minutes, or until just cooked.
2. To ensure an even cooking time, use chunky pieces of fish. Take note, thinner pieces will cook faster.

TIPS

Serves 4 | Ready in 1 hour