Deep Fried Catfish and Sweet Potato Parmesan Tater Tots

Happy Sunday foodies and friends! Today we will be deep frying catfish! How fun is that? Many of my memories involve going on fishing trips, catching fresh fish, and frying those bad boys up for dinner. It always turned out deliciously! We will also be making sweet potato parmesan tater tots.

I'm really picky with tater tots. I'll easily eat sweet potatoes any time, but bland, processed tater tots are like my kryptonite. They make me angry and I can't function because they are just... yuck. Okay, maybe I'm over-exaggerating, but still. Anyway, I'm really excited to pair these two items together. I love fish and I love sweet potatoes, so it's a win-win for me. I hope it'll be a win-win for your family and friends as well.

I'll be making my way toward the kitchen, so I'll see you all there!

Deep Fried Catfish and Sweet Potato Tater Tots

For the Tater Tots, you will need:

• 3 medium sweet potatoes
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted or softened
• 3/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese, plus more for sprinkling
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 2 cups sweet potato chips crumbs

For the Catfish, you will need:

• 3-4 medium catfish pieces per person
• 1 cup white cornmeal
• 1/3 cup all purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 2 teaspoons lemon pepper
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 2 medium eggs
• 1/4 cup buttermilk
• Peanut Oil - enough to cover the fish

Ready?

To Make the Tater Tots:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. 
2. Poke the sweet potatoes all over with a fork. 
3. Bake directly on the rack until tender, for 50 to 60 minutes. 
4. Allow to cool for 10 minutes.
5. Once cool, use your hands to peel away the sweet potatoes skin. They should just easily slip off. 
6. Place the potatoes in a medium size bowl and mash with the butter. 
7. Stir in the parmesan cheese, salt and pepper to taste.
8. Grease a baking sheet with olive oil and place the sweet potato chip crumbs in a shallow bowl. 
9. Scoop about 1 tablespoon of the sweet potato mixture into you hand and roll into a cylinder. The sweet potato mixture will be wet, but this is fine. 
10. Roll the sweet potatoes in the chips and coat well. 
11. If you need to re-shape the cylinders do so now. 
12. Place on the prepared baking sheet. 
13. Repeat until all of the sweet potato mixture is gone. 
14. Spray the tater tots with cooking spray and then sprinkle with more parmesan cheese if desired. 
15. Bake for 15 minutes and flip the the tater tots over and bake another 10 to 15 minutes or until golden and crisp. 
16. Remove from the oven and serve immediately.

To Make the Catfish:

1. Combine all your ingredients. 
2. Beat the eggs and buttermilk in a medium sized bowl. 
3. Wash the catfish fillets and pat dry.
4. Dip the fillets in the egg wash, shake off excess wash, then roll in the cornmeal mix to coat thoroughly on all sides. 
5. Make sure the oil is hot, then place the fish in the frying pan. 
6. Fry until golden brown on both sides.
7. Drain on paper towels.
8. Enjoy!

I'll be back soon with more food fun. Stay tuned, and until then: have a great day, and happy blogging to all!