The ultimate fish finger wrap?

The finished product

For some strange reason, when I was ill, I found myself thinking about fish fingers. Don't ask me why but obviously a bad chest does that to you. So it was a complete coincidence when Birds Eye offered to send me a kit to try making the ultimate fish finger wrap, but quite a welcome one.

The recipe comes from Phil Vickery and there are a load more recipes (not just fish finger ones) that he's put together with Birds Eye and Saira Khan on their facebook page in the Clarence's Cookbook section.

So, this is the recipe for the wraps.

Ultimate Cod Fish Finger Wrap
Serves 4 

Preparation time:- 15 minutes. Cooking time:- 10 minutes.

Ingredients

4 x 24cm soft flour wraps
8 Birds Eye Cod Fish Fingers cooked and warm
1/4 Iceberg lettuce
4 slices smoked streaky bacon, cooked until crispy
2 hard boiled eggs, halved
4 tbsp mayonnaise
few fresh basil leaves
2 spring onions, finely sliced
salt
pepper
1 medium carrot, finely grated (optional)

1.Lay out a wrap onto a chopping board.  Place a little Iceberg lettuce down one end of the wrap. Top with 1 slice of bacon, sprinkle with a little salt and pepper, add the 2 cod fish fingers. Add half a boiled egg, 1 tbsp squirty mayo, a few basil leaves and a sprinkling of spring onions. Add carrot if you want.

2. Fold bottom edge over the fold in both sides, finally roll up tight, and then wrap tightly in film. Chill well.

3. Remove film and cut in half diagonally and serve with onion rings.

I made these for lunch one day, and to be honest, I couldn't be doing with the onion rings so they didn't happen. There is quite a lot of prep to do - cook fish fingers, slice lettuce, fry bacon, hard boil eggs, for example. I also found it odd that you have lovely cooked fish fingers and bacon, then wrap and chill them. My wraps, therefore, didn't get chilled for very long. Chilled partly, I'd call it but it meant that they were still warm when we got to eat them. I am fairly rubbish at rolling wraps up tight and wrapping in cling film even worse, but I seem to wrap them tight enough for them to stay wrapped after slicing diagonally.

I must admit, I was a bit dubious about putting basil leaves in this. So were the children - when presented with these, they looked suspiciously at the greenery within but after a few mouthfuls, they proclaimed them a success, and asked when they could have them again. That makes them a success. I found the mayo I had used worked well because it is quite vinegary (Asda reduced fat mayo, if you're interested) which was a nice balance to the richness of the bacon and the egg.

I have to say tho, as ultimate as they were, they were ultimate in the amount of washing up it created  - one pan for the eggs, another for the bacon and a grill pan for the fish fingers! My favourite fish finger sandwich is  just to bung them in some soft bread, add some tartare sauce or mayo if you haven't got any. And eat - simples! Having tried this ultimate wraps, I'd probably add some basil (or some fresh dill - I love it with fish) just to make it slightly posh. Even though fish finger anything is not really posh at all.

(Birds Eye kindly sent me a kit to make fish finger wraps, a coupon towards Birds Eye products and an Asda gift card to buy the remaining fresh ingredients required. They also sent two cuddly Clarence polar bears for the children. I have included the recipe for information but all opinions are my own.)

Talking to Mark Hix - on food and (prawn) cocktails

Following shortly after I got to interview Gino D'Acampo, I was offered the chance to interview Mark Hix. You might not know who he is but I do! He used to be chef director of the group that runs The Ivy, that favourite celebrity haunt. A few years ago, he left to set up his own chain of restaurants, now in 3 sites across London and one in Lyme Regis. I first came across Mark Hix when watching Great British Menu in 2007. His food was simple, but stunning. His competitor in the heats thought his main course - a rabbit and crayfish stargazey pie - was "pub grub" but both that and another dish featured in the final banquet. I would have loved to have met Mark in person but it wasn't possible to arrange, so this interview took place with the wonders of mobile phones and conference calls. I started by asking Mark about a new dish he's created for his restaurant in Selfridges in conjunction with Bird's Eye. 

Tell me about the Emperor Prawn Cocktail  you’ve created - what’s different about it?

The focus is on high quality ingredients. I used Birds Eye Emperor Prawns as they are frozen very quickly and are very meaty so they are a high quality product  - a bit like frozen peas; because they are frozen so quickly, you can guarantee the quality which you can’t with fresh.

Apart from that, I use high quality ingredients to make a really good prawn cocktail – crisp lettuce, a high quality tomato ketchup and mayonnaise but I’ve also added a bit of horseradish, Tabasco and a little Pernod to the sauce.

Why did you decide to get involved with Bird’s Eye and create the dish?

Everyone loves a prawn cocktail. Back in the 70s and 80s, it was a classic dish so it was good to take the Emperor Prawns and turn it into something high quality, it’s really popular with the customers.

Lots of mums mentioned your Eat Up! Book and how good it is. One of my twitter followers even asked me to thank you for it.

Yes, I get a lot of positive comments about it. It was the first book I published. What I wanted to do was show that adults and children could eat the same things – perhaps with a little bit of adaptation for the children, but that adults didn’t have to cook separate meals for their children.

Did you cook much with your children when they were younger? (He has twin girls)

Yes, I think that’s quite important as it helps to get children to eat proper food.

What sort of things would you cook with them?

Risotto – because that’s an excellent dish for children, and fish fingers – actually, fish fingers is our biggest seller in the restaurants. We make it with sustainable fish like pollock or coley and we serve them with some nice mushy peas and chips.

A chef's lifestyle is not really conducive to a healthy lifestyle. What do you do to stay fit?

I don’t really do anything. I eat fairly healthily – a lot of people who work in kitchens can abuse their diet and not eat a very good diet.  I’m not a health freak or anything – I think it’s about balancing it out.

What type of food do you most like to eat when it’s not you cooking?

It really depends on my mood. Food is all about moods. So I might like some Asian or Indian, something with a bit of spice. Or it might be fish.

What do you think of the standard of restaurant food in this country, both in London and outside?

Well, we’re lucky in London, it’s said to be one of the gastronomic capitals of the world along with New York and Paris. There’s over a hundred different cuisines available. It has improved over the last 10 years. In terms of cooking, I think we’re ahead of the French now. Even beyond London, it’s improved a lot – even in pubs, you can get good food now. There’s still a lot of bad too but that happens everywhere.

What are your favourite restaurants?

My friend has a place called Viet Grill in London.  And places like River Cafe – both are just really good, with no fuss.

You don’t really like the fine dining experience then? 

No. It’s fine but it’s really only for special occasions and it’s not something you can eat all the time. Really good food you can eat any time is what I like.

How do you relax when you’re not working?

Fishing – in fact, I’m off to the coast this weekend to do some fishing.

Mark Hix has created a modern twist on the classic prawn cocktail dish using Birds Eye’s new Emperor King Prawns. The Emperor Prawn Cocktail is on the menu at HIX Restaurant and Champagne Bar, Selfridges during Project Ocean. Emperor King Prawns are Birds Eye’s biggest and juiciest king prawns; cooked in their shell to retain more flavour and succulence and then peeled and frozen within two and a half hours to maximise taste and freshness. http://www.birdseye.co.uk

(I have not been paid for this interview.)