Smoked Haddock and Sweetcorn Chowder

I love smoked haddock, and one of the best ways to eat it is in the form of the Scottish soup, Cullen Skink, from the village of Cullen on the Moray Firth, near Aberdeen.  It can be a bit creamy, though, and I wanted to incorporate more veg than just the usual onion or leek and potato.  So, I lightened it and turned it into a chowder tonight, with chunks of potato, red pepper and some tiny fresh corn niblets from a fresh ear of corn - all from Riverford, of course.  Just sweat a finely chopped onion or leek in a little butter, add the chopped veg and I like a chopped chilli too.  Just cover with an equal quantity of veg stock and milk, and simmer gently until the potato is tender.  Add chunks of good, undyed smoked haddock, simmer gently for an further 5 minutes until fish is cooked.  Sprinkle with chopped chives or parsley and ladle into bowls.  Serve with crusty bread - a hearty, warming complete meal for a dreich night, as Aberdonians would say.  And they should know, they have enough of them.

Smoked Haddock and Asparagus Pancakes

This is a variation on an old favourite from earlier in the blog, Asparagus Crepes.  We have an abundance of milk in the house, so pancakes are obvious.  They are filled with a bechamel sauce with Gruyere cheese and nutmeg.  Big flakes of lightly poached smoked haddock and cooked asparagus are folded into the sauce.  Lay in a gratin dish, pour on a little more sauce and grated cheese and brown well under a grill.  Delicious with lots of sweet and floppy Batavia lettuce to mop up the sauce - scrummy!

Smoked Haddock, Chard and Tomato Gratin

Some wonderful Swiss Chard turned up in the Riverford veg box today, so I chopped and blanched it, then laid it in a gratin dish with some sliced tomatoes from last week's box, some thyme and some chunks of undyed smoked haddock from Waitrose.  This was topped with a nutmeggy cheese sauce, using good, strong Godminster cheddar, and baked until bubbling and brown.  Served with toasted sourdough to mop up the sauce, it was a lovely comforting dish for a blustery dark February night.

Creamy Fish Pie

So, last night, I had a lump of leftover smoked haddock from the previous night's Kedgeree in the fridge, and had originally intended to make a recipe my sister suggested - a cauliflower and smoked haddock souffle.  However, it was cold, and we were tired from a week at work, and needed comfort - sorry Sis, but Fish Pie won the day!  I promise I'll try your recipe soon and blog about it on here.  Anyway, comfort indeed, with a fillet each of cod and salmon rescued from the depths of the freezer and the aforementioned smoked haddock, folded into a creamy bechamel sauce with a touch of white vermouth, sauteed mushrooms, frozen peas and lots of parsley and dill - oh, and a leftover boiled egg from yesterday too.  Topped with creamy mash and baked until lovely and golden, it was a marvellous supper, and we drank a fine white Burgundy in it's honour.

Kedgeree

Ah, Kedgeree....for me, this is true comfort food, a dish I grew up eating, and which always reminds me of my dear old Dad, who would probably have killed for a plate of it.  Over the years, I've made it many ways - pre-cooked rice with the other ingredients stirred in, with and without a creamy curry sauce, all delicious.  But now, I make it in one pan, by the absorption method, which is much simpler.  Now, some recipes I have seen omit any spices, and simply have a dish of cooked rice, smoked haddock, boiled egg and parsley - imagine that, no spices?!  Not right, not right at all.  Anyway, how I make it (for 2): boil a couple of good-sized eggs, and poach some reaaly good, undyed smoked haddock very gently in water to cover for about 5 minutes.  Drain, and cool, then flake into large juicy chunks.  Finely chop an onion, and gently cook in about 25g of butter until lightly golden and softened.  Stir in a level teaspoon each of turmeric and ground coriander, and half a teaspoon of garam masala powder.  I also added a little chopped green chilli, simply because I had some.  Now, measure in a jug 7floz of basmati rice, then tip into a seive and rinse.  Add to the buttery onions along with 14floz of hot water from the kettle.  Stir, cover, bring to the boil then turn right down and cook for 15 minutes until all the water has been absorbed.  In the meantime, peel and chop the eggs, flake the fish and chop a good handful of parsley - for once, I think the curly parsley is best here.  When the time is up, stir the egg, fish and parsley through the rice with a fork, cover again and leave to sit for a couple of minutes, then eat.  Nom nom!

Mary Berry's Pasta Amarilla

This is a recipe I return to over again - using, as it does, smoked haddock, one of my most favourite things to eat. Essentially, it is a cheesy pasta bake (I use big tubes of rigatoni) with fresh tomato, chunks of smoked haddock (no need to cook first), blanched spinach and today I added some fresh sweetcorn kernels. Mix all this with a good cheddary white sauce with some fresh chives, if you have them. Tip into a baking dish, sprinkle more cheese on top, and bake in a hot oven for 25 minutes until bubbling and brown, and the chunks of fish have cooked. Allow to settle for a few minutes and devour. The fish imbues the whole dish with a lovely smokiness. Heaven. This changes each time I make it, and I have used sweated leeks, peas, cooked mushrooms, broccoli - let your imagination rip. Probably wouldn't use blueberries, though. This is based on a recipe from Mary Berry and her 'Cooking at Home' book, which is a very dear old favourite of mine.

Smoked Haddock with Caper, Parsley and Egg Sauce [#210]

No chance to do anything before today, as I have been laid low with a nasty cold. It is still lurking, but now I have a little energy and most of my olfactory senses back, I turned to this lovely, homely dish from Mitch Tonks for a bit of comfort. Essentially, it is a stew of fish, chopped boiled eggs and buttery onions in a creamy sauce, given piquancy with English mustard and capers, and enlivened with lots of chopped parsley - almost, as Mitch says, like the filling for a good fish pie but without the potato topping, and like a thicker chowder or cullen skink. Very soothing served in a bowl and accompanied by broccoli and some crisp toast to scoop it all up with. Of course, it is necessary to use the very best fish, and we get fabulous smoked haddock from the Port of Lancaster Smokehouse. In the absence of such splendid fish, do at least make sure you use undyed smoked haddock from the fish counter. If you haven't come across Mitch Tonks before, do yourself a favour and get down to The Seahorse restaurant in beautiful Dartmouth - a place to rival, and possibly surpass, Rick Stein. What Mitch doesn't know about fish isn't worth bothering with. And when in Dartmouth, don't even THINK of going to Burton-Race's Carved Angel next door.....................

Smoked Haddock with Flageolet Beans and Mustard

A nice soothing dish, this, made with an immaculate piece of smoked haddock from the Port of Lancaster Smokehouse that has been sitting in the freezer. I'm afraid I did take issue with Nigel's method though! Firstly, it seemed a crime to me to bake the fish first for 20 minutes, and then again for 40 minutes with the cream and beans. Also, 2 x 400g tins of flageolet beans for 2 people seemed way too much, so one tin did fine. And 300ml of cream for 2 people is unconscionable - especially if those 2 people are in their 40s and 50s and not in the blush of youthly vigour if you get my drift! So I used about 100ml of cream which was more than enough, mixed with the drained beans, chunks of RAW skinned haddock, mustard and plenty of parsley and chives, then baked this for 25 minutes until rich and bubbling. Very nice served with toast - despite Nigel saying he felt this was inappropriate and insubstantial. Really, Nigel, you must have hollow legs, the amount of nosh you can put away! Do try this, though, it is very good and dead easy. Photo courtesy of http://www.cooksister.com/2008/04/smoked-haddock.html