Family Fish Pie

This is a really delicious, wholesome and comforting dish, perfect for cold winter nights for all the family.

The below makes enough for x3 adult portions and two smaller toddler portions which I make in ramekins and for Bridget's smaller portions I add some frozen sweetcorn too for extra veg (Glen hates it so can't include it in the adult version).

Some people poach their fish first, but I chop it all up raw and allow it to cook inside the pie - 30 minutes is more than enough time for it to cook through.

This is a great, nutritious toddler meal and a good way of encouraging them to eat fish - Bridget absolutely loves fish pie. 

Family Fish Pie

Here's how:

For the mash topping:

• 800g white potatoes (I use Desiree) 
• Pinch salt
• 3 tbsp milk
• 1 tbsp butter or margerine
• 1 tsp white pepper
• 50g hard cheese such as Grana Padano, Cheddar etc.) 

For the pie filling:

• 1 small onion
• 1 clove garlic
• 50g butter
• 50g plain flour
• 400ml milk
• 2 tbsp white wine
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 heaped tsp mustard powder
• Salt & pepper to taste
• 100g frozen peas
• Handful fresh parsley leaves
• Handful fresh tarragon leaves
• 1 large salmon fillet
• 1 large cod fillet (or other white fish)
• 1 large smoked cod or haddock fillet (approx 200g) 

Firstly peel the potatoes and rinse well. Then coat in water and a pinch of salt and place onto boil. Once they've come to the boil simmer for a further 15-20 minutes, or until a fork easily goes through the potato. Drain, and return to the pan on the heat to absorb any retained moisture then remove.

Add the milk and butter and firstly mix a bit with the fork. Now mash well with a conventional masher and season well with white pepper. Remove enough mash for any child or toddler portions, then add another pinch of salt for the adults and set aside.

Now pre-heat the oven to 180.

It’s now time to make the fish pie sauce or roux. Place the butter in a non-stick pan on a medium heat and allow to gently melt.

In the meantime finely dice the onion and mince the garlic, then add to the melted butter for a minute or two.
Now add the flour using a wooden spoon to mix as you go so it all combines well.

Now add the wine and use a balloon whisk to gently mix which will avoid the sauce becoming lumpy. Add the bay leaf and mustard powder at this stage and season to taste.

Next add the milk a little at a time, mixing in with the balloon whisk as you go once all combined mix with the wooden spoon and allow to cook for ten minutes or so. Now add the frozen peas, and sweetcorn if you are using and stir through then remove from the heat.

Rough chop the parsley and tarragon and add to the sauce and stir. 

Family Fish Pie the Roux or Sauce

Now cut all of the fish fillets into fairly similarly sized cubes. Add to sauce mix and stir well, then spoon into the pie dish or dishes. 

Family Fish Pie pre-potato topping

Baby Bites Portion of Family Fish Pie

Now spoon over the mash potato to cover all, then use the back of the spoon to smooth it down a little. Now use the back of a fork to make a crimped finish and complete by grating over the cheese.

Place the dish onto a baking tray and pop into the oven for 30-40 minutes or until the potato topping is golden brown. Enjoy!

Baby Bites Lightly Spiced Salmon Fishcakes

These salmon fishcakes are delicately spiced with a little turmeric - almost like an introduction to bolder flavours to come. The soft, fluffy middle with the crunchy breadcrumb exterior make for a fun two-textured finger food.

The amounts below make 7-8 small fishcakes and I give Bridget two with some cucumber or red pepper battons for a meal. One is probably enough if this is one of the first finger foods or you are just starting on solid food.

These freeze well too - just pop into sealable food bags once made and before frying and defrost fully before using next time.

• 1 large jacket potato or two smaller ones
• 2 spring onions
• 1 garlic clove
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 1 small salmon fillet
• 1-2 slices granary bread
• Drizzle olive oil
• 1 egg

Firstly bake the potato in the oven for 30 minutes until the centre is soft and fluffy. You could of course boil or steam the potatoes but I prefer to bake as they can go straight into the oven and it's one less piece of equipment for the dishwasher!

For the last ten minutes of the potato cooking, place the salmon into the oven in a small ovenproof dish with a little foil over.

Meanwhile finely chop the spring onion and crush the garlic clove into a small frying pan with a tiny bit of olive oil and just soften then remove from the heat.

Remove both and firstly scoop out the potato, discarding the skin and with a fork mash it up. It should still have some texture and not be too smooth.

Flake the salmon into the potato and mix through, also adding the spring onion and garlic. Add the turmeric and evenly stir through.

In a food processor blitz the bread into breadcrumbs and place into a bowl.

Crack the egg into another bowl and beat.

Next, with your hands, shape the salmon and potato mixture into small rounds until you have 7-8.

Drizzle a little more oil into the pan and place on a medium heat.

Meanwhile take each fishcake, place into the egg, turning over to ensure it's fully coated then place into the breadcrumbs, doing the same to ensure each fishcake has an even coating.

Next fry each fishcake for around 4-5 minutes on each side or until they are golden brown.

Remove from the heat and place onto a plate with some kitchen roll to draw out any excess oil.

Then allow to cool, break into halves and serve with some vegetable batons and let little one enjoy this tasty fishy supper.

Baby Bites Salmon and Dill Potato Pancakes

These are lovely, soft and fluffy potato based pancakes that go great with a squeeze of lemon and some natural yoghurt. Perfect as a weekend lunch for baby but with the addition of a big pinch of salt, these work as a great brunch dish for the grown-ups too.
Once cooked, allow to cool, and cut into smaller, bite-sized pieces and they make a great finger food for little one. The below makes approximately 5-6 pancakes.

Salmon and Dill Potato Pancakes with Lemon Yoghurt

1 large potato
1 fillet of salmon
1 egg
1 heaped tbsp plain flour
1 heaped tbsp fresh chopped dill
1 tbsp chopped spring onions
1 tbsp Greek natural yoghurt
1/2 lemon

Pop the oven on at 180⁰C (ish), prick the potato all over and place into the oven to bake for 30-40 minutes or until the inside is soft and fluffy.

For the last ten minutes of cooking, wrap the salmon fillet in some tinfoil, pop into an oven proof dish and cook in the oven.

Chop the dill and spring onions whilst everything else is cooking.

Once the potato and salmon are removed from the oven and have cooled slightly, scoop out the soft potato filling into a bowl and gently mash with a fork, allowing some texture to remain.

Flake in the salmon and mix in with the spring onion and dill until nicely combined.

Beat an egg in a separate bowl and add to potato and salmon mixture stirring with a wooden spoon.

Add a little bit of the flour at a time, mixing in, until the mixture resembles a dough.

Drizzle a little oil into a frying pan and place on a medium heat.

Using a large tablespoon, scoop out equal amounts to make each pancake, and place into a hot pan in a round shape.

Fry on each side for about 3-4 minutes, or until golden brown on the outside and completely warmed through.

Remove from the pan and remove excess grease/oil by patting with some kitchen towel.

Squeeze a little drizzle of lemon juice over each pancake.

Squeeze the remaining lemon juice into the yoghurt and serve alongside the pancakes.

Allow to cool slightly, break into pieces your baby can handle, dip into the yoghurt then pass to baby to feed him or herself and let the fun begin.

Fish Friday

Colcannon Mackerel Fishcakes

A simple but delicious take on the humble fishcake.

I've used mackerel in these as their moist, rich flavour goes perfectly with the colcannon-style base. I've also added a little heat to the dish, but this can be omitted if you're not a spice fan.

I served this as lunch for myself and my brother and we had homemade chips and a little sweet chilli dipping sauce as accompaniments.

I prepared the chips by simply slicing some Charlotte potatoes (skin on), par-boiling for ten minutes, draining then placing in a pre-heated oven for 20 mins at 200C.

I enjoyed my lunch with a generous glass of Gallo White Zinfandel, a deliciously zingy Californian rose, after all it is Friday - let the weekend begin.

200g (approx) Smoked Mackerel Fillets
150g White Potatoes
2 Large Spring Onions
50g Spring Greens
2 Slices of Bread (white or brown)
1 Tbsp Creamed Horseradish
1 Tsp Hot Pepper Sauce
1 Tbsp Cayenne Pepper
Salt and Pepper to taste

First peel the potatoes and boil till soft, then mash, season and place in a bowl to cool (I used a knob of butter to mash).

Chop/mix the bread in a food processor to create breadcrumbs and place into a bowl.

Chop the spring onions and put into the bowl with the mashed potato.

Remove the skin from the mackerel fillets and break up the fish into small pieces and also place in the bowl.

Finely shred the spring greens then put in a pan of boiling water and simmer for 4-5 mins, drain and place on a hopping board. Use a clean tea towel or some kitchen roll to absorb any excess water then also place into the bowl.

Add the horseradish, hot pepper sauce, cayenne and a good sprinkling of salt and black pepper and mix well. Add a heaped tablespoon full of the breadcrumbs and mix again.

Get a tablespoon full of the mixture into your hands and form a round with it, place in the breadcrumbs till it's covered, then put onto a plate, and repeat to make similar sized fishcakes.

Heat a pan on a medium heat with a little oil, I used grapeseed oil as it's very light in flavour, however any oil would work. Once the pan is hot add the fishcakes and cook on each side for 3-4 minutes or until lightly browned and crispy.

Serves four.

Les Deux Salons

A Garlic Lover's Dream

There seems to be a constant stream of new restaurants opening in our fair capital and it can sometimes take a while to get around to visiting the ones you fancy. Last October when Anthony Demetre and Will Smith (not of Fresh Prince fame) opened their latest offering, Les Deux Salons, I was living and working in Bristol so I added this new brasserie to my ever expanding wish list.

Happily a couple of weeks back I got to visit Les Deux Salons for dinner on the evening of my birthday, a treat from Glen, who I will, from now on, refer to as 'the boy'.

My first thoughts on entering was how very, very Parisian the decor and atmosphere was. The black and white marbled floor, cosy leather seating, and low-hanging crystal style lighting. Not to mention that it was early on a Monday evening, around 730pm and the place was filled with diners, chatter and a general happy buzz - I was suitably impressed.

The waitress (not French) brought over some delicious, crusty bread, took our wine (a Loire Muscadet - dry, crisp, lovely) and water order and left us to ponder over the menu. I'd been for the unexpected afternoon tea at Bea's of Bloomsbury (see previous post) that day where I'd scoffed a plentiful selection of goodies so faced a dilemma - starter or dessert.

Both menus had tempting offerings which made me virtually salivate so I decided to go for a starter and hope that I'd be able to squeeze in a dessert at the end of the meal.

I chose to try the brandade, something I'd heard about but never tried. This is generally a combination of salt cod and olive oil with either bread or potatoes. In this case it was with mashed potato, sauteed squid and an interesting and clever parsley cromesqui.

This was the kind of food you could just imagine tucking into when feeling a bit low, truly a comfort dish served in a small, round ceramic dish. It was soft and very well seasoned mash potato with the squid and cod mixed in, both adding a salty deliciousness and with a huge hit of garlic. Alone this would have been quite tasty. But the essential item which elevated this dish to something wonderful was the cromesqui. A cromesqui is croquette-like, a small ball in breadcrumbs which acts as a container for a liquid - in this case parsley in a luminous greeny butter. As I cut into this little delight the vibrant green liquid oozed out over the brandade, it was a real treat for the eyes before the mouth. It gave the dish a new dimension and what was before tasty, became delicious.

The boy went for the Herefordshire Snail and Bacon pie, having never tried snails and being curious. It was a pot pie with a lovely, flaky puff pastry lid. The filling was in a creamy whitish sauce with yet more garlic. The snails were tender and almost the texture of a wild mushroom and like a mushroom they absorbed all of the flavours of the sauce like a sponge and were gorgeously flavoursome.. The pie went down well with the boy but personally I found that overall the sauce was a little too overpoweringly garlicy for me.

For mains the boy chose young chicken with lemon and garlic, which I complained was a boring order. However as is so often the case, this simplest of orders was actually very tasty indeed. Moist, well seasoned and flavourful chicken with a deliciously crispy skin.

I opted for the roast saddle of rabbit and was so, so glad I did - it was just exquisite. Wrapped in a cured ham and stuffed with a mixture of rabbit offal in what was almost a pate consistency, the combination put me in momentary food heaven every time I took a bite. The three different elements of the dish just worked perfectly.

The rabbit came with spring chard, which had been just wilted in a salty garlic butter, and a carrot puree. I'm not overly keen on purees - while I still have my teeth in tact I really prefer food that can be chewed, however this admittedly had a nice sweetness to it which complemented the dish well as a whole - just a shame about the texture.

We ordered dauphinoise potatoes as a side, because apparently I am unable to enter a French restaurant without ordering them, and the boy couldn't resist ordering some chips - both were good.

Unfortunately after this I couldn't have even squeezed in a chocolate, let alone a full dessert. I was gutted, but there's always next time.

We both enjoyed the meal, the food was of a very good quality, cooked well and also presented beautifully. We sadly took the lingering smell of excessive garlic away with us, but I guess this is to be expected when eating French food. Like it's sister restaurants Arbutus and Wild Honey, Les Deux Salons is good value for a restaurant so well positioned in the West End, just off of Covent Garden. The meal was around the £85 for two courses each and a bottle of wine.

It's well worth a visit and the type of place where you could go for a celebration, a quick bite or a long-drawn out meal. I imagine this is one brasserie that is here to stay.

http://www.lesdeuxsalons.co.uk/