Earlier today I posted a review Clodagh’s Suppers, the latest gem from Clodagh McKenna. This recipe, a fish pie made with haddock and salmon and shrimp, has a creamy base and a topping of crispy potato and cheese rösti. It’s a galloping parade of flavors that will flow over your palette and please with every minute.
This is a classic example of Irish cuisine in its elevated 21st century form.
Fish Pie with Dubliner Cheese Rösti Topping
Yield: serves 2
Ingredients:
- 1 pound Idaho or Russet potatoes
- 2 ounces aged Dubliner cheese
- 9 ounces skinless smoked haddock fillet
- 9 ounces skinless salmon fillet
- 3 ½ ounces raw, peeled shrimp
- 1 ¼ cups whole milk
- 1 shallot, peeled and halved
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 teaspoon black peppercorns
- 5 tablespoons butter, softened ‘
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons chopped dill
Preparation:
Preheat the oven to 400°F.
Peel the potatoes, then grate using the large holes on a box grater. Place the grated potatoes in a bowl of cold water to stop them from turning brown. Grate the cheese using the same side of the grater and set aside separately — you should have about ½ cup.
Place the smoked haddock, salmon, and shrimp in a saucepan, pour in the milk, and drop in the shallot, bay leaf, and peppercorns. Cook over low heat for 5 minutes, then drain, reserving the poaching milk but discarding the onion, bay leaf, and peppercorns. Transfer the fish to a baking dish. Melt 3 tablespoons of the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the flour and cook, continuing to stir, until a paste (roux) forms. Gradually add the reserved fish poaching milk as well as the mustard, whisking constantly, and cook until you have a smooth, thickened sauce. Season with sail and pepper and stir in half the dill, then pour the sauce over the fish.
Drain the grated potatoes and pat with a clean kitchen towel until they are completely dry. Mix the grated potatoes and the remaining dill into the grated cheese and season with salt, then scatter over the fish and the sauce.
Melt the remaining butter in a saucepan and brush over the top of the pie to ensure that the top gets really crispy. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown.
Source: Clodagh’s Suppers by Clodagh McKenna [Kyle 2018]