My Slow Food Version of Filet o' Fish Sandwiches

Do you remember the first time you ever went to McDonalds?

I bet few people actually do. This because we live in a culture where going out for fast food is much more the norm than an occasional treat.

Not so, however, when I was growing up.

Back in those days, going to the movies was a big deal - as was having more than three channels on cable, enjoying treats like Dr. Pepper Big Gulps on hot afternoons, and chewing mounds of Hubba Bubba bubble gum in the playground after school with friends.

So you can imagine how it felt as a kid to hear the words "Let's go to McDonalds" uttered by my mother or a favourite baseball coach once, maybe twice a year if we were lucky.

But in that one little phrase was the promise of magic.

Maybe we'd get to sit in Ronald McDonald's caboose, receive a new toy in the special bag our dinner came in, and sip orange pop from a straw in a cup embellished with pictures of Mayor McCheese, The Hamburglar, Grimace, and the rest of the gang!

I feel sorry for kids nowadays because with all of the technology and easy access to, well, everything in this Orwellian world we're living and eating in, I ask myself often "Where did the magic go?"

When you walk into a McDonalds restaurant now, it is devoid of the characters that gave it whimsy and charm so many years ago. Now, re-designed as a low brow version of Starbucks, automated people place their orders either in person or via the drive thru while kids gulp down Pepsi and fries in the back seat and mom races them off to the next activity.

Which brings me to the theme of today's blog: Slowing things down.

It occurs to me that as a kid who lived in a household that  never had such things as store bought bread or processed food, it makes sense that Kraft Dinner and Oreo cookies were sources of wonder and longing for me.

Perhaps that is where the magic lies. In moving away from the established patterns of modern life and returning back to a path less taken - the road back to home baking, fresh ingredients, and sitting around the table as a family. TV off. Forks poised.

So that's what inspired today's recipe.

I belong to a wonderful group called The Canadian Cookies on Facebook. The group of us are committed to living a slower food life and we began talking last week about adapting famous fast food recipes into something that could be made at home with fresh ingredients.

I decided to try my hand at re-creating a childhood favourite: The Filet o' Fish sandwich and am so glad I did!

Tender on the inside crispy on the outside Haddock filets are nestled in a homemade hamburger bun that has been slathered in zesty homemade tartar sauce and topped with red ripe tomato and crispy green lettuce.

Even without the cheese, this will evoke memories of Ronald and the French Fry Guys, and perhaps start a whole new generation of children who enjoy eating fish that didn't come frozen in a box.

For the printable recipes, please click HERE.


Or pop by to visit my step by step How to Video on my cooking channel CHARMED,



Until tomorrow everyone, Happy Cooking!



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