“Food Shack” salad with sweet potato crusted fish

Food Shack is a restaurant in Florida that my family has gone to for about 20 years now. They’re famous for their sweet potato crusted fish on top of a big salad that my family has loved since the first time we visited. The “food shack salad” is well known in our family and it usually means a big salad with fish on top. This is my version of the restaurant’s signature dish and it didn’t disappoint.

Ingredients:

Sweet potato crusted fish

• 2 sweet potatoes

• 2 fillets of fish (I like a light white flaky fish for this: snapper, grouper, mahi, etc.)

• 2 eggs

• 1 cup flour (seasoned with salt)

Salad

• mIxed greens

• 10 cherry tomatoes (halved)

• 1/4 of a pineapple (cubed)

• handful of green beans

• handful of snap peas

• half a cucumber

• 1/4 toasted sliced almonds (&/or toasted coconut flakes)

Spicy mango drizzle

• 1 very ripe mango

• 1 lime (juiced)

• 1 Tbsp sambal

• Pinch of salt

Dressing

• 1 Tbsp EVOO

• 1/4 cup Mango Drizzle

• 1 Tbsp whole grain mustard

• 1 Tsp Dijon

• 1 Tbsp Maple syrup

• Juice of 1 lemon

• Pinch of salt

Method:

Sweet Potato Crusted Fish

1. Remove skin & any pin bones from your fillets

2. Peel sweet potatoes

3. Shred sweet potatoes with the smallest setting julienne attachment on a mandoline ( or alternatively shred on box grater)

4. Place shredded sweet potato on paper towels to remove excess moisture

5. Lay out your dredging station in bowls or on trays- flour (season with Tbsp of salt), beaten eggs and shredded sweet potato

6. Dredge fish fillets in flour, egg then press firmly into shredded sweet potatoes. Your fish filets should be nicely coated

7. Once coated with sweet potato, place your fillets on a lined sheet tray

8. Heat saute pan over medium low with a little olive oil

9. Once pan is hot (3-4 minutes) add the sweet potato crusted fillets to cook for about 4 minutes per side

   1. There should be a soft sizzle in the pan. You want the crust to crisp slowly so the sweet potato doesn’t burn

   2. If the pan dries up add a little more olive oil as needed

10. Once the first side is golden brown, flip and repeat the same process (season the golden side with salt once slipped)

11. Remove from pan, place on a wire rack and season the other side with salt

Salad

1. Wash your mixed greens & remove any excess water

2. Cut your cherry tomatoes, pineapple and cucumber to desired size & shape

3. Blanch green beans & snap peas in boiling water until tender

4. Toast almond until golden brown

5. Add all ingredients into a bowl

Mango Drizzle

1. Remove meat from mango and add to a blender

2. Add lime juice, hot sauce, and a nice pinch of salt

3. Blend until smooth

   1. You can add a little honey if your mango wasn’t very sweet or ripe

Dressing

1. Add all ingredients to a bowl along with a nice pinch of salt and whisk together

Assemble & enjoy!