Fish Finger Sandwiches (with Piccalilli)

In response to a comment about fish fingers I made recently on his post about home-made oven chips, the usually infallible Mr. YP said he thought only small children ate fish fingers. Well, wrong! Those of us who remain eternally young at heart still do, a favourite from my teenage years, staple Friday night fare ready on returning home for the weekend from my digs in Leeds after leaving school.

I have never blogged a recipe (unless you count Dill in Mustard Sauce), but if Debra Who Seeks can do it for the first time in twelve years then so can I for the first time in six, as we would appear to share similar gastronomic preferences. So here is: Fish Finger Sandwiches (with Piccalilli).

Put the fish fingers straight from the packet on to a tray and grill for about 15 minutes, turning once or twice. In the meantime, cut and butter the bread.

When the fish fingers are done, put them on to the bread. As it is important to have a balanced diet with plenty of vegetables, spread with piccalilli. Assemble the sandwiches. Don’t worry if it looks a bit messy, it will get much worse once you begin to eat them, and so will you. It might help to have a couple of tissues handy. Those plastic bib-trays that toddlers and geriatrics hang round their necks are also useful.

If you are one of those obsessives who consumes excess vegetables with every meal then you could try Mrs. D’s less messy variation in which the fish fingers are placed on a bed of sliced radishes with mayonnaise. Keep one fish finger spare so you can cut a square for the cat (who, preferably, will have its own plate).

For pudding (no, not him again), three satsuma oranges are a perfect complement, although the more discerning might wish to try Newcastle Brown 99, another of my original Leeds-era recipes (bite a chunk of Cadburys Flake, take a swig of Newcastle Brown straight from the bottle and mix in the mouth).