Nigella Lawson Fish Finger Bhorta

Nigella Lawson’s fish finger bhorta is soft-cooked onions with garlic, ginger and chilli, spiked with mustard, then crisp fish fingers mashed in with spinach, coriander and lime, topped with pink-pickled onions. It’s a comfort-food supper for 2, from her book Cook, Eat, Repeat.

She’s the first to admit she never expected to put a fish finger recipe in a book. But she learnt about the Bird’s Eye Bhorta from the political journalist Ash Sarkar’s tweet, and everything changed. It’s now her absolute go-to when the need for vibrant sustenance and delicious comfort hits.

The magic is in the contrast. Oven-baked fish fingers, cooked a little longer than the packet says for really crisp edges, are broken and mashed into the spiced, mustardy onions at the very end, so you get soft, savoury warmth against crunchy, golden crumb.

Nigella Lawson Fish Finger Bhorta

Recipe by Pinch Perfect

0.0 from 0 votes

Course: Dinner, LunchCuisine: BritishDifficulty: Easy

Servings

4

servings

Prep time

30

minutes

Cooking time

40

minutes

Calories

300

kcal

Nigella’s cult comfort dish from Cook, Eat, Repeat, a riff on Ash Sarkar’s Bird’s Eye Bhorta: spiced mustardy onions with spinach and lime, crisp fish fingers mashed through, topped with pink-pickled onions. Serves two.

Ingredients

• For the pink-pickled onions:

• ½ red onion

• red wine vinegar or lime juice, to cover

• For the bhorta:

• 2 regular onions (total approx. 300g)

• 2 red chillies

• 2 fat cloves of garlic

• 1 x 15ml tablespoon finely grated fresh ginger (approx. 50g chunk)

• 12 frozen fish fingers

• 3 x 15ml tablespoons cold-pressed rapeseed oil or vegetable oil

• 2 x 15ml tablespoons English mustard (from a jar)

• 2 teaspoons Maldon sea salt flakes (or 1 teaspoon fine sea salt)

• 125g young spinach

• 1 lime

• 3 x 15ml tablespoons roughly chopped fresh coriander (plus more to serve)

prime30 days freeMissing an ingredient?✓ Free fast delivery   ✓ Cancel anytimeTry Prime freeUnderlined ingredients link to Amazon UK. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Directions

• Pickle the onions:As far ahead as you can, at least 2 hours and up to 24, slice the red onion into fine half-moons. Put in a jar or bowl, pour over red wine vinegar (or lime juice) to just cover, pressing them under, cover and leave to steep.
• Prep:When ready to cook, heat the oven to 220°C/200°C fan/425°F. Slice the regular onions into fine half-moons, deseed (or not) and finely slice the chillies, and peel the garlic. Peel the ginger if tough and grate to 1 tablespoon.
• Bake the fish fingers:Put the frozen fish fingers on a baking sheet and cook for about 20 to 25 minutes, a little longer than the packet says, so the crumb is really crisp.
• Soften the onions:Meanwhile, warm the oil in a large frying pan or stir-fry pan and cook the onions over medium-low heat for 20 minutes, stirring regularly, until pale gold and soft.
• Spice it:Add the chillies and cook, stirring, for 3 minutes, then stir in the ginger and grate in the garlic and cook 2 minutes more. Spoon in the mustard and salt, stir, then add the spinach and let it wilt for 2 to 3 minutes. Squeeze in the lime juice.
• Mash in the fish fingers:Take the pan off the heat. Break up the crisp fish fingers with a spatula, add to the pan, and toss and mash everything together. Sprinkle over the coriander.
• Serve:Top with the pink-pickled onions and extra coriander.

Notes

• (store): Refrigerate leftovers, covered, for up to 3 days. Reheat in the microwave until piping hot, or eat cold.
• (make extra): Nigella actually doubles everything but the 12 fish fingers when she makes it, for “essential leftovers”, as it’s so good the next day.

FAQs

What is a bhorta, and where does this come from?

Bhorta is a Bangladeshi and Bengali style of dish of mashed vegetables, fish or other ingredients, mixed with onion, chilli, mustard oil and herbs. Nigella’s version is a riff on the “Bird’s Eye Bhorta” that journalist Ash Sarkar described on Twitter in 2019: cooked fish fingers mashed with onion, ginger, green chilli, mustard, lime and coriander.

Nigella credits Sarkar entirely, calling it a new love in her life, and she added her own touch of pink-pickled onions on top. It became the opening recipe of her BBC series Cook, Eat, Repeat. So it’s a genuinely modern, magpie dish, humble fish fingers turned into something vibrant and exciting.

Why bake the fish fingers longer than the packet says?

Crispness is everything here. Baking the fish fingers for 20 to 25 minutes, a little past the packet time, drives off more moisture and makes the breadcrumb coating really crunchy and golden. That crunch is what survives being mashed into the soft onions, giving the dish its essential texture contrast.

If they’re only cooked to the packet minimum, they turn soft and soggy once mixed in, and you lose the whole point. An air fryer or a hot grill works too, as long as you get them properly crisp-edged. Add them right at the end, off the heat, so they don’t steam.

Why the pink-pickled onions, and can I skip them?

The pink-pickled onions are Nigella’s own addition, and while she says they’re not mandatory, she’d be unwilling to do without them. Red onion steeped in red wine vinegar (or lime juice) turns bright pink, sharp and crunchy, cutting through the rich, mustardy bhorta and looking beautiful against the golden fish.

Make them ahead, at least 2 hours and up to a day, so they have time to soften and turn colour. They’re so useful you’ll find yourself adding them to all sorts of things, so it’s worth pickling a whole onion. If you’re truly short on time you can skip them, but the dish loses its bright, sharp lift.

How spicy and mustardy is it, and can I adjust it?

It has a gentle warmth from two red chillies and a real savoury kick from two tablespoons of English mustard, but nothing fierce. For less heat, deseed the chillies or use one; for more, leave the seeds in. The mustard mellows as it cooks into the onions, so it’s savoury rather than sharp.

Taste as you go and adjust the lime and salt at the end to balance it. The lime juice is important, brightening the whole pan and lifting the richness. If you like it hotter, a fresh green chilli or a dab of chilli sauce on top works, alongside the cooling pink onions.

What do I serve it with, and does it keep?

It’s a complete, comforting supper as it is, eaten straight from the pan, but it’s lovely with plain rice or flatbread to make it go further, or piled onto toast. A cooling spoon of yoghurt on the side suits the spice. Nigella often doubles the recipe (bar the fish fingers) for leftovers, as it’s so good.

Leftovers keep for up to 3 days in the fridge, reheated in the microwave until piping hot, or eaten cold. For another quick, spiced Nigella supper, her fear-free fish stew is in a similar comforting vein, and there’s more on the Nigella Lawson recipes page.

Can I make it vegetarian?

Yes, with a simple swap. Use vegetarian or plant-based “fish-free” fingers, which crisp up the same way and mash in just as well, keeping the whole spiced, mustardy structure of the dish intact. Check they’re properly crisp before adding them.

The rest of the bhorta, onions, chilli, ginger, garlic, mustard, spinach, lime and coriander, is already vegetarian, and vegan if your mustard and fingers are. It’s a forgiving template, so you could even mash in roasted cauliflower or firm tofu fingers instead. It sits well among Nigella’s other veg-forward plates like her caramelized garlic hummus.