This is a fish dish from Florence in Italy that’s ideal for serving as a Good Friday evening meal. You can also prepare this dish all the way up to the cooking step then save it in your fridge and cook the following day. If doing this, don’t forget to add 15 minutes to the cooking time.
Prep time 45 minutes/Cook time 75 minutes/Serves 6
Ingredients:
1kg (2 ¼ lbs) skinless and boneless cod loin fillet
2 bay leaves
a few peppercorns
100ml (2/5 cup) white wine
500ml (2 cups) milk
2 tbsp butter
250g (9 oz) chestnut mushrooms, sliced
225g (1/2 lb) raw jumbo king prawns, defrosted and patted dry
100g (3 ½ oz) baby leaf spinach
2 tbsp chopped chives
1 tbsp capers
For the sauce:
75g (2 2/3 oz) butter
75g (2 2/3 oz) plain flour
1 tsp Dijon mustard
3 tbsp double cream
100g (3 ½ oz) Gruyère cheese, grated
Freshly-grated nutmeg
For the topping:
1kg (2 ¼ lb) small salad or baby new potatoes
3 tbsp chopped chives
2 tbsp olive oil
Method:
Pre-heat the oven to 180°C (160°C fan/355F/gas mark 4).
Place the cod into an ovenproof dish that has a capacity of about 2.5l (10 cups). Add the bay leaves, peppercorns, wine and milk. Cover the dish with foil and bake in your pre-heated oven for 20 minutes, then remove from the oven and set the dish aside to allow the fish to cool in the liquid (you can turn the oven off at this point).
For the topping, place the potatoes into a saucepan, add a generous pinch of salt and pour over just enough boiling water to cover to potatoes. Bring to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes or until tender. Drain in a colander, then transfer to a mixing bowl and ‘smash’ them with the back of a fork into small pieces. Add the chives, olive oil and some salt and black pepper then mix together before setting aside.
Rinse out the potato pan, then melt the butter in it and use to fry the mushrooms for 8-10 minutes until lightly golden. Transfer the mushrooms into a bowl then rinse out the pan again.
Using a fish slice, transfer the just-cooked fish to a large mixing bowl and break it into chunks, (you can discard the bay leaves and peppercorns) and reserve the cooking liquid. Wash and dry the dish that the fish was cooked in.
For the sauce, melt the butter in the cleaned pan, stir in the flour and cook over medium heat for a minute or so, stirring all the time, then mix in the mustard. Now, over a low heat and using a ladle, add the fish cooking liquor, little by little, to the flour, stirring after each addition until all the liquid is completely incorporated. Add the cream, then whisk the sauce over the heat until thickened. Take the pan off the heat and stir in the grated Gruyère cheese. Season with a generous grating of nutmeg and salt and pepper.
Pre-heat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan/400F/gas mark 6). Gently mix the sauce into the fish, adding the prawns, spinach, chives, capers and cooked mushrooms. However, make sure to drain any excess liquid from the mushrooms before you add them.
Turn this mixture into the ovenproof dish, packing it down, and spoon the potatoes on top. Transfer the dish to a baking tray and bake the pie in your pre-heated oven for 45-50 minutes or until bubbling and golden. Serve immediately, accompanied by buttered and minted peas.
