Initially, I posted a picture of these fish nuggets on my personal Facebook page and got a huge response. I wasn’t going to post the recipe until I realized that South Florida cuisine is a foreign food to most people. Further, I made up this recipe based on some local ingredients. This was originally based on a quinoa fish nugget recipe from Cooking Light May 2017, but I changed it so much its not recognizable.
Likewise I often use Cooking Light as inspiration for my daily cooking as they have quick and healthy recipes. Therefore I have included these sponsored links for those that would like to order a subscription or get a “best of” book.
South Florida Cuisine
Ingredients

- 3/4 cup of crushed corn chips (great way to use up the crumbs at the bottom of the bag)
- 1/2 cup toasted coconut
- 1/4 cup almond flour
- 1/4 cup millet flour, (any flour will do)
- 1 tsp. smoked paprika
- 1 tsp. lemon pepper seasoning
- 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
- 1/4 cup 2 % milk
- egg
- a pound of halibut or cod fish cut into 1 inch pieces
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 2 tbsp. pickle relish
- 1 tbsp. Frank’s hot sauce
We have a coconut tree out in front of our house. Consequently, every few weeks my husband cuts a bunch down and drills holes in them for the coconut water. During the rainy season the inside meat is gelatinous so I blend it up to use in recipes for coconut milk. During the rest of the year the inside meat is drier so I chop it up in my food processor, and toast it on parchment paper at a low temperature in the oven. Then I place it in a jar in my pantry until needed. It makes a great topping for salads in addition to using it for coating chicken and fish.
In addition here is a sponsored link for the food processor I use:
Directions
- Initially, preheat the oven to 425 degrees F and prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper. Subsequently spray the parchment paper with cooking spray.
- Next mix corn chips and toasted coconut on high in food processor in order to break up any remaining chunks of chips and place in a shallow dish.
- Then mix flours, paprika, lemon pepper, and garlic powder together in a separate dish.
- After that, mix egg and milk together in a shallow bowl.
- Then dredge fish pieces in flour to coat and dip in egg mixture.
- In addition, coat the pieces in the coconut/corn chip mixture. Place on the baking sheet, and coat with cooking spray.
- Consequently, bake for 14 minutes flipping half way through the cooking time.
Florida Cuisine: Spicy Sauces


Meanwhile, mix mayonnaise, pickle relish, vinegar, and hot sauce in a bowl. I usually store it in a recycled mustard squeeze bottle. As a result it makes using it easier, plus you can shake away any lumps.
Similarly, you can mix equal parts of hot sauce and honey for a sweeter dipping sauce.
Salad Ingredients
- greens (arugula, spinach, etc.)
- sliced onion
- tomatoes
- cucumber
- pepperochini
- olives
- chili dressing
Mainly you can mix whatever salad ingredients you want. I often add fresh herbs from my garden such as basil or parsley. Also I occasionally add mango when it is in season here. Cut the vegetables in whatever size you want and toss in a bowl. I usually scoop the seeds out of the cucumbers. Then I toss all the vegetable scraps in my compost. The seeds usually make for surpring garden growth during the spring.
Chili Dressing Ingredients
- 1/4 cup of olive oil
- teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup lime juice
- teaspoon chili powder
- 1/4 cup honey
Mix ingredients together in a jar. Again, I recycle mustard squeeze bottles. They make great dressing and sauce containers.
Of course a good Florida beer goes well with our Florida cuisine. We recommend Miami Weiss, a Hefeweizen from Mia Beer. You can buy this at Total Wine.
Bon Appetit!

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