Smoked haddock, savoy cabbage and potato bake

Serves 4 generously

Prep time: 30 minutes 

Cooking time: 30 minutes

This is a tasty twist on fish pie with the potatoes at the bottom. We had requests for ‘more please’ and ‘bake it again!’.

Although it looks like a long process, it’s simple to make – though we do suggest getting all the ingredients lined up and prepped before you start to cook (actually we suggest that for every recipe – saves a lot of time and faffing…). 

The best dish to bake this in is a shallow 1.5 litre ‘gratin’ dish, which gives you lots of crisp topping. It’s fine to put it in a deeper, smaller dish but you get less crispy topping and it takes longer to cook. 

Ingredients

5 medium-sized potatoes (choose firm, waxy ones, eg, red-skinned or Maris Piper), peeled and cut into large dice 

500g smoked haddock fillet/s (undyed if possible)

600ml full-fat milk

1 bay leaf

75g salted butter

1 small savoy cabbage, outer leaves and thick stalks removed, thinly sliced

salt and freshly ground pepper

¼ tsp nutmeg, freshly grated if possible

juice of 1 lemon  

50g plain white flour

50ml double cream

a handful of fresh parsley, chopped 

80g fresh white breadcrumbs or natural dried breadcrumbs (buy them or make your own)

50g gruyère or mature cheddar, grated 

Method 

1. Put the potatoes in a large, lidded saucepan, pour over boiling water to cover and cook for about 7 minutes until cooked through but not falling apart. Drain in a colander and set on one side. 

2. While the potatoes are cooking, put the smoked haddock in a large, lidded frying pan, skin-side down (cut to fit if necessary). Pour on the milk and pop in the bay leaf. Bring to a gentle simmer, cover with the lid and turn off the heat. Leave to poach for 10 minutes, turning over halfway through.

3. Meanwhile, rinse and dry the potato pan, then add the butter and melt it over a medium to high heat. When the butter is foaming, add the savoy cabbage with a small splash of water. Toss to coat it in the butter and season with salt and freshly ground pepper. 

4. Put on the lid, lower the heat and let the cabbage steam for a few minutes until it’s wilted, then remove the lid. Bubble up to reduce any liquid, if necessary. 

5. Grate over the nutmeg and add the lemon juice; toss well, then sprinkle on the flour. Stir it in so it’s evenly distributed and cook for a couple of minutes, stirring all the time.

6. Remove the fish from the milk and set aside. Pour the poaching milk into a jug, then gradually stir it into the cabbage – the flour will thicken it into a white sauce that coats the back of a spoon. 

7. Once all the milk is incorporated and the sauce has thickened, stir in the cream and parsley. Check the seasoning again and set aside.

8. If you are going to bake it straight away, preheat the oven to 190C/170C fan/gas 5.

9. By now, the fish should be cool enough to handle; remove the skin and flake into medium chunks. Be sure to remove any bones.

10. Spread half the potatoes over the bottom of the gratin dish, then scatter on half the fish chunks and cover with half the
cabbage mix. Repeat the layers with the remaining potatoes, fish and cabbage mix. (If this sounds too fiddly, one layer of each
works fine.)

11. Scatter the breadcrumbs and cheese over the top and bake for 25-30 minutes until bubbling, with a crisp, golden top. Remember: if you put the bake in a deeper, smaller dish, you will need to cook it for longer.

12. Leave to stand for 5 minutes, then serve.

Tip This dish can be made in single or multi-portion gratin dishes. You will need to reduce the cooking time for smaller dishes. You can freeze it for up to 3 months before baking.