Ingredients
- 900g Fish (a mixture of cod, haddock, hake, salmon etc)
- 175g Smoked haddock (too much-smoked fish may overwhelm the flavours)
- 2 leeks
- 100g butter
- 900ml full-fat milk
- 1 onion
- 1 carrot
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 pinch of Thyme
- 25g Flour
- 900g potatoes
- salt and pepper
Method:
- Steam the potatoes to keep them as firm and dry as possible, mash and add in 300ml of boiled milk with 50g butter along with a little seasoning.
- Wash and dry the leeks, slice thinly into rings using the white and light green parts.
- Melt 25g of butter and sauté the leeks until soft but don’t allow to brown.
- Heat 600ml of milk in a wide saucepan with sliced carrot, onion, herbs and some pepper.
- Bring to boil and simmer for about 5 minutes, remove from heat and let flavors infuse in the milk for about 10 minutes.
- Strain and keep the flavoured milk for cooking fish.
- If you wish you can buy the fish ready cut into cubes from the fishmonger, but make sure there is a nice mix of fish and not too much-smoked fish.
- Put the fish in a wide pan or saucepan, cover with the already strained milk and bring to a gentle boil and simmer with a lid on for about 5 minutes, depending on the size of fish pieces.
- Be careful not to overcook or break up the fish too much. Mix in the cooked leeks gently.
- Add the cooked shellfish if using. You can make one large pie or 3-4 smaller ones, or individual starter servings. In each case, with a slotted spoon remove the fish from the milk without breaking it up too much and divide evenly among the dishes. Keep the milk to one side.
- To make the sauce, melt 25g butter in a saucepan and blend in 25g flour, add the milk in which the fish was cooked, whisking to avoid lumps. Cook for a few minutes.
- If using cheese add at this stage, stir in to melt.
- Put the sauce over the fish in the dishes and top with the mashed potato, using a fork or a piping bag.
- Heat oven to 375°F (180°C/Gas 4) and cook for 10 to 15 minutes.
