The humble fish finger is a beloved beige food. 

Whether you prefer your fish fingers smothered in ketchup, accompanied by a plate of chips and peas or wedged in between two pieces of buttered white bread – they are comfort food at its finest. 

But Nigella Lawson has just introduced us to another way we can eat fish fingers, and people have a lot of strong thoughts over the recipe. 

On this week’s episode of Cook, Eat, Repeat, Lawson showed viewers how to make a fish finger bhorta. 

The recipe (which you can find over on BBC Food) was brought to the famous cook’s attention by political journalist Ash Sarkar. It involves breaking up and mashing fish fingers into a pan of vegetables and spices. 

Fans have since been sharing what a game changer the recipe is, hailing it as the ultimate comfort food.

“Made ⁦fish finger bhorta à la ⁦ Nigella Lawson and ⁦[Ash Sarkar] tonight,” tweeted food writer Signe Johansen. “And holy mackerel it was so delicious we ate the lot straight from the pan.”

“Attempted the [Ash Sarkar] and Nigella Lawson fish finger bhorta. Forgot the spinach but this is easily a new favorite comfort food,” declared another foodie.

“Thank you [Ash Sarkar] and Nigella Lawson for your heartwarming Twitter comradeliness,” added another grateful fan who used Quorn fish fingers. “I made a vegan version of the fish finger bhorta! It was delicious!”

And yet, despite the fish finger bhorta clearly being a hit with so many people who tried the recipe, it received a sceptical reaction from the Gogglebox families in last night’s (Friday 13 November) episode. 

“That’s not how you eat fish fingers,” argued Pete. “You have fish fingers, chips and beans.”

“I can’t fucking believe it, this is posh fish fingers,” shouted a stunned Stephen.

“Captain Birdseye will be turning,” said Izzi.

“That’s one of my favourite meals of all time, fish fingers. I mean we had 11 each the other night we just can’t get enough of them,” an outraged Lee told Jenny. “And now she’s just ruined the whole lot.”

But one Gogglebox viewer only had one message for the doubters…

“Well Gogglebox what do you know?! I made Nigella Lawson’s fish finger bhorta and it’s amazing!,” she tweeted alongside a photo of the delicious looking dish.

One thing’s for sure: the recipe has piqued people’s attention. And if, like us, you want to give it a try, you can find the recipe on BBC Food or on Nigella Lawson’s website.

Images: BBC, BBC Food