Wendy Ra­hamut

Fish is usu­al­ly the flavour of the day at lunch or din­ner, but in T&T, when we think of a fish sand­wich we think of the much-loved del­i­ca­cy shark and bake.But a great fish sand­wich can be much more than shark and bake, and a lot health­i­er too. Don't get me wrong, I love a slice of shark with a gold­en fried bake, but on­ly oc­ca­sion­al­ly would I in­dulge my­self.Fish sand­wich­es make great Sat­ur­day lunchtime meals or quick din­ners if you are re­al­ly in a rush. Pair them up with some sweet pota­to fries and it's a meal well worth wait­ing for!

SHRIMP PO BOYS WITH CREAMY COLE SLAW

This is a pop­u­lar sand­wich in Louisiana USA, and is usu­al­ly made with oys­ters.

6 foot long crusty rolls, or hot dog rolls

1 lb medi­um shrimp, peeled and de­veined

1 tsp minced gar­lic

1 tsp salt

1/2 cup all pur­pose flour

1 cup corn­meal

1/4 tsp all spice pow­der

1 egg light­ly beat­en

Veg­etable oil to fry

CREAMY COLE SLAW

2 cups shred­ded cab­bage

1 cup shred­ded car­rot

2 tbs chopped cel­ery

1 tsp grat­ed onion

1/2 tsp sug­ar

1/2 cup may­on­naise or more to taste.

Com­bine all in­gre­di­ents and re­frig­er­ate un­til ready for use.

METHOD

Sea­son shrimp with gar­lic and salt.

Com­bine corn­meal with all­spice pow­der.

Dredge shrimp in flour, then egg, then corn­meal.

Fry in hot oil un­til gold­en.

Spread may­on­naise on­to roll, fill with shrimp and top with creamy cole slaw.

Serves 4 to 6

Grilled fil­let of king­fish with lime, pep­per and onion rel­ish

1 lb bone­less king­fish fil­lets, about 4*

1 tsp minced gar­lic

1 tbs minced chives

1 tbs fresh French thyme

2 tbs olive oil

Salt

* Chef's note - you can sub­sti­tute king­fish with any firm fleshed fish.

METHOD

Mar­i­nate fish in herbs and olive oil, sea­son with salt. Cook on a hot grill for about 3 min­utes per side.

Serve on crusty buns topped with lime and onion rel­ish.

(The fil­lets can be fried in olive oil as well)

Lime, pep­per and onion rel­ish

1 onion, peeled and chopped

2 cloves gar­lic, minced

1/2 hot pep­per, seed­ed and chopped

1/4 cup chopped pars­ley

Juice of 2 large limes or 3 limes

2 tbs olive oil

Salt and fresh­ly ground black pep­per to taste

1 cup boil­ing wa­ter

METHOD

Com­bine the first four in­gre­di­ents

Stir in the lime juice

Sea­son with salt and pep­per

Pour on the boil­ing wa­ter then cov­er and leave for 5 to 10 min­utes

Spoon over hot fish sand­wich.

Caribbean shrimp and fish burg­ers with chadon beni mayo.

1 lb small shrimp, peeled and de­veined

1/2 lb bone­less fresh fish fil­lets

1 tsp minced gar­lic

2 tbs minced chives

1 tsp Di­jon mus­tard

1/2 tsp all­spice pow­der

Salt to taste

1 egg yolk

1/3 cup soft bread­crumbs.

METHOD

Mince shrimp and fish in food proces­sor, stir in the rest of in­gre­di­ents.

Form in­to 3-inch pat­ties and pan fry for about two min­utes per side, in hot olive oil.

Serve in burg­er buns topped with let­tuce, toma­to and chadon beni mayo.

Makes 6

CHADON BENI MAYO

1/2 cup low fat mayo

1 tbs fine­ly chopped chadon beni

1 clove gar­lic, minced.

1/2 tsp pep­per sauce.

METHOD

Com­bine all the in­gre­di­ents and cov­er, re­frig­er­ate un­til ready for use.

Makes 1/2 cup.

SWEET POTA­TO FRIES

To make sweet pota­to fries sim­ply peel some sweet pota­toes, cut in­to French fry sized strips and cook in deep hot oil un­til just gold­en, re­move when good and crisp.

Drain and light­ly salt.