There’s definitely something fishy about this dish!!!
You knew I’d go there come on 🙂
I’ve previously mentioned I’m not a huge fan of fish, well this is a fish dish with multiple types of fish (ok only two in this case)
For my version I’m going to have potatoes, frozen leek, 1 large carrot, parsnip ( yes parsnip … this bit is optional .. it makes your mash slightly sweeter and I think it’s nice ), 1 large shallot.
You could add in some mushrooms, peas quite easily as well. I’m using frozen leek you could just as easily use fresh.
For the fish you’ll want around 500 grammes. I’m using frozen in this case. I’ve only got some white fish and some salmon. Some smoked haddock would be amazing in this.
The thing about the frozen fish is you’ll probably want to defrost it a bit and that’s what we’re going to do. If you’re not using frozen you can go ahead and cut it up into bite sizes pieces.
Peel your potatoes and cut into slices 4 or so per potato (again this will depend on size) The smaller the quicker it’ll be to cook but lets not make them too small. Chop up your parsnip rather small, I’m lazy so I’m going to dump both into the same pot. Parsnip is a good bit tougher than the potato so requires a bit more cooking time, having it smaller means it’ll also cook faster.
Throw them both into a pot. Add a dash of salt and boil for around 15 minutes.
In the mean time lets get started with our main mix. Begin by finely chopping one shallot and throwing it into a frying pan. We don’t want too much of an onion taste but it adds a nice little something to the dish.
Fry your shallots.
Chop your carrots up … the larger they are the longer they’ll take to cook.
Throw in 200 – 250 grammes of leek into the pan with the shallot. It’s frozen so really you just want to defrost it.
Pretty much add everything that’s left. Your carrots, your fish, a teaspoon of thyme.
Add 40 – 50ml of water. I just throw some without measuring, more if needed. Cover with a lid as you want to try defrosting the fish and getting the carrots slightly cooked. You’ll want to give it 5 – 10 minutes depending of the size of your frozen fish.
Now would be a good time to pre-heat your oven to 180C.
Try to break your fish into nice sized bites (I do this with a wooden spoon / spatula)
In the mean time you’ll want to have made a basic enough white sauce. Milk, butter, and flour. Here I’ve got 50 grammes of butter and 400mls of milk. Based on the your ingredients you may want to adjust this. Bring to the boil and slowly whisk in the flour 25 grammes … and more if needed to make a slightly thick white sauce. I rarely measure this and just keep adding a small amount until I’m happy.
Mix the white sauce in with the fish mix and add a bay leaf as well as a pinch of salt.
We’re ready!
Load up a baking tray with your fish mix.
When your spuds have cooked for 15 or so minutes stab them with a knife or fork and check to see if they are cooked. Goes in / through easily and hey presto you’re done.
Add 50 – 100 grammes of butter. Add a decent splash of milk 100mls to start with. Also grate some nutmeg into the mash.
Layer it onto the fish mix in the baking tray.
Now take a fork and start to spread the mash all over. When you’re done draw some lines with the fork. This will help the mash dry out a bit and crisp up.
Now you can add a sprinkle of cheese on top. You can also add some breadcrumbs if you’d like. They’ll crisp up nicely.
Throw it in the oven for 10 to 20 minutes at 180C. Everything is really already cooked. You’re looking to crisp up the top. Set a timer for 10 minutes and check on it. Once you do that. Set another timer for another 10 minutes assuming it’s still not crispy on top. It’s important to remember to check it. I’m awful with this hence my mobile timer constantly.
Bring to the table and serve It’s not much to look at I’ll admit but it’s rather tasty.
