Sheekey's famous fish pie

Any of you who have been to J Sheekey's in the West End will probably have succumbed to their unbelievably good fish pie. Here's the recipe from their cookbook J Sheekey Fish.

"Some people add lobster, prawns or peas to their pie" says their chef Tim Hughes. "We prefer this purer version."

Serves 4

200g cod fillet (or another white chunky fish such as halibut or monkfish), skinned and cut into rough 3cm chunks
200g salmon fillet, skinned and cut into rough 3cm chunks
200g smoked haddock fillet, skinned and cut into rough 3cm chunks
Half a small bunch of flat leaf parsley, chopped

For the sauce

50g unsalted butter
50g plain flour
125ml white wine
500ml fish stock
90ml double cream
1 tablespoon English mustard
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
Half a teaspoon anchovy essence
Half a lemon, juiced
Salt and ground white pepper

For the topping

1kg floury potatoes, cooked and dry mashed (e.g. King Edwards)
50g unsalted butter
50ml milk
Salt and ground white pepper
20g fresh white breadcrumbs
10g freshly grated parmesan

To make the sauce, melt the butter in a heavy-bottomed saucepan over a low heat and gently stir in the flour. Gradually add the wine, stirring well. Slowly add the fish stock (a good-quality cube is fine) until you have a silky smooth sauce. Bring to the boil and simmer gently for 15 minutes. To finish, add the cream and briefly bring to the boil again. Stir in mustard, Worcestershire sauce, anchovy essence and lemon juice. (Add more mustard and Worcestershire sauce if you like it spicy.) Check seasoning.

Gently fold the fish and parsley into the hot sauce, and pour into a large pie dish, leaving a space of about 3cm from the top of the dish. Leave to cool, so the topping will sit on the sauce when piped.

Pre-heat the oven to 190°C/gas mark 5. Mix butter and milk into the mashed potato until soft enough to spread over the fish mixture. Season. Pipe or gently fork to cover the fish.

Bake the fish pie for 30 minutes. Sprinkle over the breadcrumbs and cheese, and bake for a further 10 minutes until golden.

What to drink: A perfect excuse to bring out a Chablis or other good white burgundy or other luscious, creamy cool-climate chardonnay.

J. Sheekey's Fish by Tim Hughes and Allan Jenkins is published by Preface Publishing at £25. Photograph © Howard Sooley.

Potato and lemon frittata with watercress & almond salad

An unusual and fresh-tasting frittata that would make a perfect brunch dish from Ryn and Cordie's In Search of the Perfect Partner (The Food and Wine Matching Formula) reviewed here.

SERVES 4

INGREDIENTS
3 baby potatoes
Oil or butter for greasing the dish
200g firm ricotta
4 large free range eggs
50ml cream
1 tsp cumin
1.5 lemons, zested & juiced (keep separate)
1/4 bunch chives, chopped
Salt & pepper
1 large bunch watercress
1 small red onion, sliced into rings
30ml extra virgin olive oil
80g flaked almonds, toasted

METHOD
1. Cook the potatoes in boiling water until tender. When cooled slightly, dice into 1cm cubes.
2. Preheat the oven to 180°C.
3. Grease a 25cm pie dish with oil or butter. Place the potatoes in the dish, and crumble the ricotta over the top.
4. Whisk the eggs and cream together, then add cumin, lemon zest and three quarters of the lemon juice (set aside the remaining lemon juice), chives, pepper and salt.
5. Pour this egg mix over the potatoes and ricotta. Bake the frittata for 20-25 minutes or until the egg has set. Set aside to cool slightly.
6. In a bowl, toss the watercress and sliced onion, and drizzle with the olive oil and some lemon juice. Season to taste.

TO SERVE: Plate a wedge of frittata next to a generous portion of salad and sprinkle with the almonds.

MATCH! The freshness and zestiness of a young Semillon makes a fabulous fusion with this frittata. Find one from the Hunter Valley and dig in!

 

Yoghurt-baked fish with walnut-herb crumbs

This recipe came from a fascinating dinner at which chef Greg Malouf cooked a selection of Iranian dishes from his book Saraban which he wrote with his former wife Lucy with whom he still collaborates. This unusual and simple fish dish in yoghurt particularly appealed to me and I thought it would to you too.

Mahi-e mast-gerdu
YOGHURT BAKED FISH WITH WALNUT–HERB CRUMBS

Greg writes: Although it might at first seem a little strange to bake fish in yoghurt, I guarantee that this wonderful dish from the north of Iran, with its crunchy walnut and herb topping, will surprise and delight you. You’ll need to select a firm white fish that becomes succulent and tender as it cooks – I find rock ling (a south Australian fish) ideal.

SERVES 6
unsalted butter, for greasing
1 kg firm white fish fillet, skin removed
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
rice and fresh herbs, to serve

WALNUT–HERB CRUMBS
150 g fresh breadcrumbs
150 g shelled walnuts, coarsely chopped
and sieved
1/4 cup shredded flat-leaf parsley leaves
1/4 cup shredded tarragon leaves or
dill sprigs
90 g unsalted butter, melted

YOGHURT SAUCE
250 g thick natural yoghurt
1/2 teaspoon cornflour
1 large egg
1 small shallot, finely diced
2 tablespoons finely snipped chives
juice of 1/2 lime
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 180°C. Lightly butter a baking dish just large enough to fit the fish comfortably.

To make the walnut–herb crumbs, combine the ingredients thoroughly in a bowl.

To make the yoghurt sauce, whisk the yoghurt with the cornflour and egg. Stir in the shallot, chives, lime juice and oil and season lightly with salt and pepper.

Remove any stray bones from the fish, then cut the fillet into 6 even pieces. Season the fish lightly all over with salt and pepper and arrange in the baking dish. Pour the yoghurt sauce over the fish. Pack a generous layer of the walnut–herb crumbs on top of each piece of fish. Season lightly again and bake for 15–20 minutes, or until the topping is golden and crunchy and the fish is cooked through.

Serve straight away with your choice of rice and fresh herbs. (Greg served this with a simple pilau and the very pretty fresh herb and flower salad in my rather blurry picture, right)

What to drink: We actually drank a rather grand Chablis premier cru with this but I think a simple crisp white like a Picpoul de Pinet or an Albariño would work just as well.

Saraban is published by Hardie Grant at £30.

Risotto of smoked haddock, leeks and cauliflower with a vadouvan dressing

An unusually complicated recipe for this site but one which should be absolutely worth the effort. It comes from Phil Howard's fantastic The Square: The Cookbook volume 1 which I suspect is already well-thumbed in many restaurant kitchens.

When you look at it in detail, it's not that daunting either. Howard, a natural teacher, patiently talks you through the recipes, explaining the thinking behind each dish and what to focus on to make sure it's successful including - critically - the timing of the various components.

If you cooked one a month you'd have an impressive repertoire.

Serves 8

Smoked haddock is the primary ingredient of many great dishes and they all possess a similar comforting nature. It has a wonderful strong flavour, rounded, smoky and somehow very homely. Not only is it delicious in itself but it also imparts its flavour effortlessly to its surroundings. It is this quality that makes it so well suited to a leading role in a risotto, and on a cold winter’s day this mellow risotto, lifted with the curry-like flavour of the vadouvan dressing, is a perfect starter.

Overview

The smoked haddock is skinned and trimmed and the skin off-cuts are used, along with onion, leek, celery and cauliflower, to make the risotto’s base stock. The haddock is poached in milk, flaked and folded through the rice towards the end.

The risotto is finished with softened leeks, cauliflower, grated hard-boiled egg and butter and is drizzled with a vadouvan dressing – a curry-like emulsion of onions, vadouvan, vegetable stock and butter.

Focus on

-- Source large fillets of undyed smoked haddock, not the bright-yellow variety so often seen.

-- The quality of the finished risotto is reliant on the flavour of the base stock. Do not compromise on the quantity and quality of its ingredients and ensure you season it fully once made.

-- Vadouvan is a French take on curry and has a phenomenal flavour. It should be available through specialist shops but if all else fails, use a top-quality mild curry powder.

Key components

Smoked haddock

Smoked haddock stock

Vadouvan dressing

Timing

-- This is a simple dish but all its preparation needs to happen on the day. The stock can be made up to 4 hours in advance. The vadouvan dressing can be made then too. The leeks and cauliflower can be blanched 2 hours or so before the risotto is cooked and the vadouvan dressing should be made an hour before.

-- The smoked haddock should be poached 30 minutes before the risotto is finished. The risotto can be part cooked an hour before serving, thereby requiring only 5 minutes’ completion. It can of course be cooked in one continuous process, in which case simply omit the ‘break’ outlined in the method below.

INGREDIENTS

Smoked haddock

2 x 250g fillets of undyed smoked haddock, skin on

Smoked haddock stock

50g unsalted butter

2 white onions, sliced

2 leeks, sliced

50g cauliflower, sliced

2 celery sticks, sliced

the skin and off-cuts from the smoked haddock, above

1 bay leaf

1 teaspoon peppercorns

Vadouvan dressing

1 white onion

50g unsalted butter

½ teaspoon celery salt

15g vadouvan powder

Other ingredients

4 large eggs

1 long, slim leek

4 cauliflower florets

2 celery sticks

90g unsalted butter

2 shallots, finely chopped

300g Carnaroli rice

500ml milk

50g Parmesan cheese, grated

 

METHOD

Smoked haddock

Skin the smoked haddock fillets. Run your fingers along the front end of each fillet to check for residual bones and remove any that you find. Trim away 1cm of the thinnest part on either side of the fillets and remove 3cm from the tail end. Reserve the skin and trimmings. Cut the haddock fillets in half and set aside, covered, in the fridge.

Smoked haddock stock

Place a large, heavy-based pan over a medium heat and leave for 1 minute. Add the butter, swirl the pan to melt it and then stir in the onions, leeks, cauliflower and celery. Add a pinch of salt and sweat for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently, until the vegetables have softened. Add the smoked haddock skin and trimmings, the bay leaf and peppercorns and cover with 1.4 litres of water. Bring to the boil, turn down the heat and cook at a bare simmer for 30 minutes. Turn off the heat and leave to rest for 15 minutes. Pass the stock through a colander into a bowl, discarding the solids, and then through a fine conical sieve. Taste the stock and season if necessary. Set aside to cool, then cover and chill.

Vadouvan dressing

Cut the onion in half through the root and cut each half in half again. Break the resulting quarters down into individual layers, methodically cut each layer into 3mm wide batons and then cut across into 3mm dice. Place a heavy-based pan over a medium heat and leave for 1 minute. Add 20g of the butter, swirl the pan to melt it, then add the onion and celery salt. Cook for 2–3 minutes, until tender. Add the vadouvan powder and cook for a further 2 minutes. Add 100ml of the smoked haddock stock, bring to the boil and cook at a bare simmer for 5 minutes. Add the remaining butter and turn off the heat. Briefly whisk to incorporate the butter and set aside.

Other ingredients

Bring one small and one medium pan of water to the boil and generously salt the small pan. Boil the eggs in the medium pan for 8 minutes, then lift them out, refresh under cold running water for 2 minutes and peel. Set aside, covered, in the fridge. Once they are cold, grate them on a coarse grater.

Remove the outside layer from the leek and cut the leek on the diagonal into 5mm-thick slices. Plunge into the pan of boiling salted water for 30 seconds, lift out and place on a tray lined with a kitchen cloth. Transfer immediately to the fridge. Do not refresh.

Break the cauliflower down into tiny florets and blanch them in the salted water for 1–2 minutes, until tender. Lift them out and set aside with the leeks.

Peel the celery sticks, cut across into slices 2mm thick, blanch in the salted water for 30 seconds, then refresh briefly in iced water and set aside with the other vegetables.

To part-cook the risotto

Place 700ml of the smoked haddock stock in a pan and bring to near boiling point. Place a large, heavy-based pan over a medium heat and leave for 1 minute. Add 50g of the butter, swirl the pan to melt it, then add the shallots and a pinch of salt and cook for 2–3 minutes, until softened. Add the rice and cook for 2 minutes longer, stirring frequently. Add a ladleful of stock, turn the heat down and cook, stirring frequently, until the stock has been absorbed. Add a little more and continue this process until you have no stock left. This should take about 12 minutes and the rice should be very much al dente. Tip the rice out on to a tray, leave to cool for 5 minutes and then cover with baking parchment.

Half an hour before finishing the risotto, pour the milk into a pan, place it over a medium heat and bring to the boil. Remove from the heat, add the smoked haddock and leave it to poach for 2 minutes, then turn it over in the milk. When it is cool enough to handle, lift out the smoked haddock, gently break it into succulent flakes and set it and the poaching milk aside.

To serve

Pour 600ml of the stock into a pan and bring it to near boiling point. Put the rice into a large pan and place it over a medium heat. Add 100ml of the haddock poaching milk and stir continuously while it heats up. Continue to stir until the rice has absorbed the stock, then add a bit more and continue this process, tasting the rice as you go, until all but a small amount of stock has been added and/or the rice is nearly cooked – it should still be just al dente. Stir in the smoked haddock, leek, celery, cauliflower and egg. Add the remaining 40g butter and the Parmesan, remove from the heat and stir gently until the butter has melted and mixed in.

Place the vadouvan dressing over the heat until just warm. Lay out 8 preheated shallow bowls and divide the risotto between them. Drizzle a spoonful or two of vadouvan dressing over the top.

This recipe comes from The Square, The Cookbook Volume One: Savoury' by Philip Howard with photographs by Jean Cazals (Absolute Press £40) And online roughly what you'd pay for a main course at the Square or any other top London restaurant which makes it an absolute bargain in my book.

What to drink: The smoked haddock and vadouvan dressing are the key to the wine match here. I'd suggest a Pinot Gris or a Viognier or maybe an old-style white rioja like Muga's.