Loaves and Fishes

A second order from fishinabox has landed me some lovely hake fillets. I've wanted to try hake after seeing Hugh FW cook with it as an alternative to cod. Seemingly hake is much more sustainable than cod so worth a try.

My impression on looking at the fillets was how 'meaty' they looked and a lovely colour, more creamy coloured than cod.  I had an urge to make a fish pie, lovely comfort food to mark the changing of the clocks.  

Earlier in the day I'd bought a delicious rosemary and walnut granary loaf from the baker at our local market, so a simple supper of fish pie and rosemary and walnut bread for a late autumn evening.  The sweetness and crunch of the walnuts went beautifully with the delicate fish flavour and soft texture of the pie.

Simple Fish Pie
Serves 4
Ingredients
400g hake fillets or other white fish
300ml milk
half an onion, peeled and sliced
5 black peppercorns
1 bay leaf
50g butter
3 tbsp plain flour
1 large carrot, peeled and chopped
1 small leek, washed and sliced
half an onion, peeled and chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
handful of flat leaf parsley, chopped
half a glass of dry white wine
potatoes mashed with butter and yoghurt to cover the pie
grated parmesan

Method
Dry the fish with kitchen paper and place in a frying pan.  Pour over the milk and add the peppercorns, onion slices and bay leaf. Cover with a lid and bring to a simmer.  Simmer for 8-10 minutes until the fish flakes.  Remove the fish and place on a plate. Strain the cooking juices through a sieve and reserve, discard the peppercorns, onion slices and bay leaf.

Whilst the fish is cooking add the chopped carrot, onion, leek and garlic to a saucepan with a glug of oil and gently heat to soften the onion. Add the wine and the parsley and simmer gently for about 10 minutes.

Using the reserved cooking juices from the fish make a white sauce as follows. Melt the butter in a saucepan. Add the flour and stir well to remove any lumps and cook gently for a minute or two. Gradually add the cooking juices, stirring constantly. Bring to the boil and then simmer for a few minutes.

Now make up the pie by adding the flaked fish and the winey vegetable mixture to the white sauce. Put the combined ingredients into a pie dish.  Cover with the creamy mashed potatoes and sprinkle over the parmesan.

Put the pie dish on a  tray and bake in the oven at 200C for about 30 minutes. Then serve in wide bowls (pasta bowls are good) with a couple of chunky slices of buttered rosemary and walnut bread...yummee!

My First Veg Box

On Thursday my first organic veg box from a local farm arrived.  The variety of veg was not bad given the time of year - there were a few potatoes (glad there were not too many as we still have a lot of our own potatoes), four large leeks, some carrots and onions, a handful of runner beans, a cauliflower, a cabbage, a very large swede and some curly kale.

We like our vegetables but this is quite a lot to get through before the veg starts to deteriorate and our freezer is already full to bursting with Holly Grove produce, so I had to make things that would use the maximum amount of veg in the shortest time.

First on the list was something to accompany fillets of trout that I had bought for our supper on Thursday.  The runner beans were an obvious choice and something using some of the lovely leeks, but what?  Then I remembered a dish that my Mum used to make when I was a child - stovies!  Any Scots reading this may need no further explanation, though from my experience family recipes vary.  The stovies my Mum made used potatoes, onions, butter and milk and it was cooked in a saucepan on top of the stove; this delicious concoction would be served in bowls with crusty, well buttered bread - real comfort food.

My interpretation is really a variation of dauphinois and uses leeks instead of onions - posh stovies.  The dish was perfect with the simply cooked trout and runner beans, the richness of the stovies went so well with the lightness of the fish - lovely!

A vegetable curry was next on the list and delicious it was too - that was Friday night's meal served with naan and vegetable pakoras.

Then using some beef from the local butcher and leeks, carrots, onions and swede I made a large slow cooked casserole - some eaten last night and the rest for a pie filling for tonight's supper.  The pie I'll serve with creamed potato and swede and some of the dark curly kale.

After all of this there is still enough veg left to make a warming soup and some vegetable stock that I may just be able to squeeze into the freezer - phew!  To be honest I'm not sure veg boxes are for me, I think I'd rather select my veg myself and probably buy smaller quantities more often, but it has been an interesting experience and reminded me of a childhood dish long forgotten - oh, and here's my recipe...

Posh Stovies

Serves 2-3
Ingredients

125ml double cream

125ml milk

2 cloves garlic, peeled and finely sliced

1 bay leaf

good grating of nutmeg

salt and pepper

2 good sized potatoes, peeled and thickly sliced

1 large leek, cleaned and thickly sliced

leaves stripped from a few sprigs of fresh thyme

a handful of freshly grated parmesan cheese

Method

Put the first five ingredients in a saucepan and simmer together for 5 minutes to infuse the milk/cream mixture.  Remove from the heat and remove the bay leaf and season with salt and pepper.

Take an earthenware ovenproof dish and grease generously with softened butter.  Lay a layer of potatoes in the bottom of the dish and sprinkle with some of the thyme, add the leek slices in a layer over the potatoes and then cover the leek with another layer of potatoes, sprinkle the remaining thyme over the potatoes.

Pour the milk/cream mixture over the layered potato and leek.  Oil the inside of a piece of tinfoil and then use this to cover the dish, oilside down.  Put the dish on a baking sheet in the oven 200C for about 40 minutes or until the potato is soft.  Remove the foil and press down the potatoes with the back of a serving spoon then sprinkle over the parmesan and return to the oven for about 10 minutes until the top is golden.

Bright Bite

Just taken enough time to come in from the garden to make myself a bite of lunch.

A local pastie from our local butcher (well, half a pastie as a whole one is too big for lunch), with some homemade tomato salsa and a few tortilla chips. Not a lot of home cooking here but a quick, colourful and tasty lunch...now back into the garden for some more autumnal sunshine!

January Cottage Pie

Yesterday recovering from my cold I ventured out to do some much needed fresh food shopping. The crisp snow on the ground and the sub-zero temperatures called once again for some heart-warming fayre, so how about a traditional cottage pie? I have most of the ingredients in the store cupboard, so just some good fresh beef mince and vegetables to accompany the pie were required.

I used the remainder of the celeriac mash from another meal mixed with additional potatoes to cover the pie. A very rustic and tasty meal if not quite fine dining!

Holly Grove Cottage Pie
Serves 4
Ingredients
For the filling
1 lb steak mince
1 large onion, peeled and chopped
2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped finely
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
2 stick celery, sliced
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tin chopped tomatoes
8 fl ozs beef stock
2 tbsps Worcestershire sauce
2 tbsps tomato puree
salt and pepper to taste

For the topping
2 lbs potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
4-6 ozs strong Cheddar cheese, grated
1/2 cup creme fraiche

Method
Brown the mince in a large pan. Remove the mince with a slotted spoon and place in a dish. Drain off the fat from the pan and add the olive oil. Add the onion and garlic and cook gently until the onion is softened. Add the carrots and celery and heat through. Return the mince to the pan and add the tomatoes, stock and Worcestershire sauce. Bring gently to a simmer. Cover and simmer for at least 1 hour, stirring occasionally. About 15 minutes before the sauce is ready add 2 tablespoons of tomato puree to thicken the sauce. Season to taste.

Meanwhile put the potatoes in a saucepan with enough cold water to cover them. Bring to the boil then simmer for 15-20 minutes until tender. Drain the potatoes and push them through a potato ricer into a bowl. Add the creme fraiche and beat until smooth. Add about 2-3 ozs of the cheese and mix through the potatoes.

Take a pie dish and 2/3rds fill with the minced beef mixture. Top this with the creamed potato and then cover with the remaining cheese. place the dish on an oven tray and bake at 190C for 25-30 minutes until the topping is bubbling and golden.

Serve with green vegetables.

Hogmanay Pie

Wishing you all health, contentment and happiness in 2010!

The Handyman and I had a lovely New Year's Eve (known to all Scots as Hogmanay), just the two of us in our cottage home. Traditionally we have a beef and ale pie for our evening meal on Hogmanay and this year was no exception. The filling for the pie was slowly cooked for around 5 hours in a very low oven and then placed in a pie dish covered with puff pastry and returned to the oven. Served with mixed winter vegetables (carrots, parsnips and brussel sprouts) and creamed HG potatoes - delicious when complimented by a glass or two of St Emilion! A lovely meal to end the old year.

Hogmanay Pie
Serves 4-6
Ingredients
1 packet ready made puff pastry
1 lb stewing steak
6-10 shallots, peeled and left whole
2 parsnips, peeled and thickly sliced
3 carrots, peeled and thickly sliced
chestnut mushrooms
3/4 pt beef stock
1/2 pt Guinness
pl flour mixed with 1 tsp mustard powder to coat the beef
1 tsp dried sage

Method
Heat some oil in a heavy based frying pan. Add the shallots, carrots and parsnips and fry gently until the onions have browned slightly. Remove from pan and place in a large casserole dish.

Heat some more oil and add the beef coated in flour in small batches, browing all over, then remove and place in the casserole dish. Repeat until all the beef has been browned.

Pour off the excess oil and add the stock and Guiness to the pan. Bring to the boil and then add the dried sage. Pour enough of the liquid over the beef and vegetables to cover and stir to combine. Cover the beef mixture with a circle of greaseproof paper and place the casserole lid on top. Put the casserole in the oven at 120C - 140C for at least 4 hours. Check the liquid level from time to time adding more if required. After about 3 hours add the mushrooms, stir to combine and return to the oven.

When the beef is cooked spoon the mixture into a pie dish and cover with the puff pastry. Place the pie dish in the oven at 200C for aproximately 25 minutes until the pastry has risen and is golden. Serve with creamed potatoes and vegetables of your choice.