Parmesan Fish Sticks

Labor Day three plus Joy, Will visits, Joy holds Will and says Baby! and the Baby! is the perfect word. The week was the life. The life was the cooking. The cooking was the love. And the love was the week, and the week was one of the weeks that stack together to become the years, and the years become the life, and the life is the woman at the stove who cooks and writes and loves and does not stop.

I made she-crab soup on Sunday — the anchor, the constant, the practice. The soup was perfect. The perfection was the practice. And the practice continues, one Sunday at a time, one bowl at a time, one life at a time, the woman stirring, the roux thickening, the kitchen warm, the family fed, the love alive.

The soup was Sunday’s anchor, but the week kept moving — Joy holding Will, the kitchen still warm, the family still hungry in that beautiful, bottomless way families are. These Parmesan Fish Sticks are what I reach for when the coastal flavors of that Sunday linger and I need something crisp and golden and easy enough to let me stay present in the room, not just at the stove. Fish belongs on this table. It always has.

Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 20 min | Total Time: 35 min | Servings: 4

Ingredients

1 1/2 lbs cod, haddock, or tilapia fillets, cut into 1-inch-wide strips
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt, divided
1/4 tsp black pepper
2 large eggs, beaten
1 cup plain breadcrumbs
2/3 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
Olive oil cooking spray
Lemon wedges and tartar sauce, for serving

Instructions

Preheat. Heat oven to 425°F. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with a wire rack and coat the rack lightly with cooking spray.
Set up the breading station. In a shallow dish, whisk together the flour, 1/4 tsp salt, and black pepper. In a second dish, beat the eggs. In a third dish, combine the breadcrumbs, Parmesan, garlic powder, smoked paprika, and remaining 1/4 tsp salt.
Bread the fish. Pat the fish strips dry with paper towels. Working one at a time, dredge each strip in the flour mixture, shaking off the excess, then dip in the egg, letting the excess drip off, then press firmly into the breadcrumb-Parmesan mixture to coat all sides.
Arrange and spray. Place the breaded strips in a single layer on the prepared rack. Spray the tops generously with cooking spray to help them crisp evenly.
Bake. Bake for 18—20 minutes, flipping once at the 10-minute mark, until the coating is deep golden and the fish flakes easily with a fork.
Serve. Transfer to a platter and serve immediately with lemon wedges and tartar sauce on the side.

Nutrition (per serving)

Parmesan Fish Sticks — When the Sea Finds Its Way to the Sunday Table