Lightly breaded, baked and paired with a lemon dill yogurt sauce; this is a healthier version of a fried Lenten classic.

Lent is the traditional time where Catholics and various Christians alike fast in preparation for Easter. A lot of people tend to lean towards pizza during the fasting days but one of my favorite things to eat is fish. Yes, I absolutely love fish and if I could afford it I would eat it nearly everyday. However, during Lent fish can be found in abundance! Everywhere you look, every restaurant has either fish fries and ,my personal favorite, fish sandwiches.  Although not many fish sandwiches that you typically find around NEPA are anything special. There are a few gems in the area where you can get a decent fish sandwich but mostly, at least in my area, you are limited to fast food fish sandwiches, queue my tears. This is a definite crime against this simple yet beautiful sandwich. Thus, I made it my personal mission to make a great fish sandwich.

My take on the traditional fish sandwich can be considered on the lighter side. It is lightly breaded and is actually baked instead of fried. As well as pairing it with a homemade yogurt sauce instead of having it slathered in a fatty mayonnaise based tartar. These little swaps help make it a much healthier and tastier fish sandwich. You can just enjoy the simple pleasure of eating a delicious fish sandwich instead of waiting in a drive-thru.

Baked and Breaded Flounder

1 small fresh flounder filet

1 egg

½ cup breadcrumbs of choice

1 TBSP vegetable oil

½ tsp kosher salt

sandwich roll of choice

Lemon Dill Yogurt Sauce

1 TBSP whole fat plain Greek yogurt

½ lemon, juiced

1 tsp fresh dill, chopped

¼ tsp garlic powder

¼ kosher salt

cracked black pepper, to taste

For the fish, preheat the oven to 400°F and line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Coat the foil with vegetable oil and put aside. 

As the oven is preheating, prepare the sauce. Mix together the yogurt and lemon juice, add in the rest of the sauce ingredients. Stir to combine and taste to make sure there is enough seasoning to your liking. When done, put aside until your fish is done. 

Set your flounder filet on paper towels or a clean kitchen towel and sprinkle both sides with the salt. Allow the fish to sit out for 20 minutes at room temperature before breading. This will firm up the flounder and give it a better texture when cooked as well as releasing some excess water from the fish that can make your breadcrumbs soggy. 

In a bowl or pie dish, beat the egg and put aside. In another dish, measure out the breadcrumbs. 

Pat your fish dry with a paper towel and dip your fish into the beaten egg. Then coat the fish with the breadcrumbs. Place the coated fish on the prepared baking sheet and bake for 10-15 minutes or until your fish is flaky. 

Assemble your sandwich as you see fit with your choice of roll and the prepared yogurt sauce. Sit back and enjoy!

*Notes:

For the sauce, sometimes I might need to add more dill or salt depending on how I’m feeling that day or the strength of the dill. It is very important that you taste your sauce! Please let my list be your guide and follow your taste bud’s lead.

For the breadcrumbs there is no specification. I personally use my homemade bread crumbs but you can use any standard breadcrumb you have in your pantry.

This recipe is for a personal sandwich but feel free to make this sandwich for a couple of people or a crowd! Simply double or triple the ingredients to make more than one.

Some sides I like to accompany with this sandwich are seasoned potato wedges, slaw or even a fresh side garden salad. 

A few bread options that I personally think go well with the fish and sauce are soft potato rolls, Kaiser or even a crusty Portuguese roll. 

If fresh Flounder is in short supply, you can easily substitute with fresh Haddock or Cod.