Vinegar Salt Shake-and-Bake Flathead Fingers with Lemony Crushed Peas

Difficulty: Easy | Prep: 20 min | Cook: 15 min | Total: 35 min | Serves: 4 | Dietary: Dairy-Free

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cook With the Kids. Chippie flavour on a school night, and the kids do most of the work. Chooki's Vinegar Chicken Salt goes through the crumbs, so every flathead finger comes out of the oven with that salty, tangy hit. Two zip-lock bags, plenty of shaking, and the grown-ups just run the oven.

Step 1: Set Up the Bags

Heat the oven to 220°C (200°C fan-forced) and line a big tray with baking paper. Tip the flour into one zip-lock bag. In a bowl, get the kids to rub the panko with 2 tablespoons of the oil and 2 teaspoons of the Chooki's until it feels like damp sand, then tip it into a second bag. Crack the eggs into a shallow bowl and beat them with a fork.

Step 2: Shake, Dip, Shake

Drop a few flathead tails into the flour bag, seal it and shake. Dip them through the egg, drop them into the crumb bag and shake again. Lay them on the tray with a little room between each one, and keep going until they're all done. Press any loose crumbs on with your fingers, then everyone washes their hands.

Step 3: Bake

A grown-up slides the tray in for 12 to 15 minutes, until the crumbs are golden and the fish flakes when you poke it with a fork. No need to flip them, the oil in the crumbs does the job.

Step 4: Crush the Peas

While the fish bakes, put the peas in a microwave-safe bowl with a splash of water, cover and heat on high for 3 minutes. A grown-up drains them and lets them sit for a minute. Now the kids take over with a potato masher: crush the peas with the last tablespoon of oil, a good squeeze of lemon and half the remaining Chooki's, leaving plenty lumpy, then tear in the mint. Sprinkle the rest of the Chooki's over the hot fish and serve with the peas and lemon wedges.

Tip: Give one kid the dry bags and the other the egg bowl. One set of hands stays clean, and the crumbs end up on the fish instead of their fingers.