This potato pie with smoked cod or haddock in a cheese sauce works very well as all of the flavours compliment each other and the smoky fish is the icing on the cake.
If you are not fond of fish you could substitute dry-cured streaky bacon just pan fry it until crispy and cut into thin slices.
Ingredients for 4
- 2 Skinless smoked cod or smoked haddock fillet cut into small pieces
- 3-4 Leeks topped and tailed and thinly sliced
- 2.5 Kg of potatoes
- 200g Vintage Cheddar finely grated
- 200g Medium Cheddar finely grated
- 200ml Double cream
- 3 TBSP plain flour
- 200ml Scrumpy cider
- 2 TBSP English mustard
- 3 TBSP Salted Butter
- Rock or Sea Salt
Method
Peel the potatoes and cut into 3mm thick rounds. Cover with just enough water and add a couple of pinches of salt. Bring up to the boil with a lid on. Once the water is boiling turn off the heat and leave for 3 minutes before draining. Allow the potatoes to cool.
Meanwhile make a cheese sauce. Begin with melting the butter gently and mixing in the flour and cook on low for a couple of minutes without colouring the flour. Add the cider, mustard and cream and bring up to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. Add the medium cheddar and stir in well beating out any lumps and leave to one side to cool slightly.
In a deep baking pan add a layer of leeks and then potatoes with a sprinkling of the vintage cheddar then another layer. Then add a layer of the smoked fish and 1 to 2 more layers of the leek and potato with the vintage cheddar.
Pour over the cheese sauce and then top with a final layer of potato. Brush the top layer of potato with cold pressed rapeseed oil.
Bake in the oven for 45 minutes at 150ºC then increase the heat to 220ºC for a final 20 minutes or so until the top layer has gone golden and crispy. Serve with a side of mixed green vegetables simply boiled or steamed.
Cracked or ground white pepper work as a great table seasoning.
Gavin McArdell
