Homemade Filet O'Fish (with Sweet Potato Mash)

There are times in everyone's lives when the comforting appeal of junk food, especially those we enjoyed as children, is just too much to ignore.

Although a lot of these commercial food giants are, outwardly at least, making some changes to their businesses - such as switching from polystyrene boxes to recycled cardboard - there is still a lot of work to be done, from animal welfare to factory conditions, before their products could be judged hedonethical.

Here's one of my old favourites, the ubiquitous "filet o'fish", in a healthier, more ethical and homecooked format. I served it with sweet potato mash, instead of chips.

Instead of a deep fried fish waffle (well, I think they look like waffles) I used fishcakes and even cheated on the making of them and bought these ones, I also cheated on the buns and bought organic poppyseed topped white rolls. If I was less lazy I could have made both, but the plan was for an easy dinner that was naughty, but not as naughty as buying from a fast food place.

The fishcakes were easy to cook in a hot pan with oil, the important thing was to not move them around until the bases were properly crisp and browned, this avoids them sticking to the pan. 

I toasted the buns but would be curious to see how it would work out if we steamed them afterwards, as the fast food chain does. I couldn't be bothered with this extra step but it didn't matter, they still tasted great.

I chose red leicester cheese as it has the better qualities of processed cheese, like the way it melts, whilst still being proper cheese. After toasting the buns it was just a matter of laying slices of cheese on the base of each and grilling them until melted.

Tartare sauce is equally easy: just mix some chopped sweet cucumber / dill pickles and finely chopped capers and chopped parsley into mayonnaise and season with salt, pepper and sugar (optional) to taste.

Sweet potato mash just involves peeling the potatoes, cutting into chunks and pre-boiling them. Drain them and add butter, salt and pepper and mash them up.

So, yes, this isn't *exactly* what you'd get if you walked through those plastic arches, but I think it tastes better, fills you up for longer and still gives you that comforting hit of carbs, fat, salt and sugar.