My favourite smoked haddock, from @alfredenderby (I’ve got a stash in the freezer too). If you don’t believe me, just ask Marco Pierre White or the Great Taste Award judges
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750 g smoked haddock, cut into 4 pieces
500 ml milk
2 bay leaves
½ onion, peeled
30 g butter
30 g plain flour
100 g grated cheddar cheese (plus more to finish)
Dash of Tabasco sauce
1 heaped tsp French mustard
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
200 g baby spinach
1 cup of frozen peas
🐟Turn on the oven to 220 C/200 C fan.
🐟Put the smoked haddock in a shallow pan (with a lid) and add the milk, bay leaf, onion and 5 peppercorns. Bring slowly to the boil, remove from the heat, turn the fish over, cover with the lid and leave to rest for 3-4 mins.
🐟Remove the fish with a slotted spoon and strain the milk into a jug.
🐟Melt the butter in a saucepan over a medium heat, then stir in the flour and cook gently for 2–3 minutes. Turn the heat to low and slowly add the reserved milk, whisking continuously to avoid any lumps forming. Simmer gently, stirring often, for 2 minutes. Add the cheese, tabasco and mustard and continue to cook, stirring continuously, for 2 minutes until the cheese has melted into the sauce, then remove from the heat. Check the seasoning.
🐟Place the raw spinach in the bottom of a shallow ovenproof dish and sprinkle over the peas. Remove the skin from the haddock and place on top. Pour over the sauce and sprinkle with the reserved cheddar.
🐟Place in the oven and cook for 10 minutes, until the top is bubbling and starting to caramelise (you could also grill it, but watch carefully to avoid burning).
Served here with some rather marvellous chargrilled @aldiuk asparagus 🌱with @belazu_co Verdemanda extra virgin olive oil and lemon zest
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