A reward on winter evenings.
Ingredients
- 2.25 l water
- 1 slice lemon
- 1 tblsp salt
- 750-900g hake fillet (skin on)
- 75 g unsalted butter
- 15 g flour
- 570 ml milk
- 25 g fresh basil (stalks removed and hand picked)
- colcannon ingredients
- 450 g potatoes (washed)
- 70 g butter
- 150 g curly kale (finely chopped)
- 1 egg (beaten)
- 3 tblsp plain flour
- 1 pinch salt and fresh ground black pepper
- 3 tblsp water
Method
- Cook the potatoes for about 25 minutes in boiling salted water, until soft. Peel while they are still warm Mash and add 20g butter.
- Bring saucepan to a medium heat, add the kale with 3 table spoons of water and 50g of butter, cook until tender. Reason for so little water is to keep vitamins contained and because cabbage is 90% water.
- Fold the cabbage through the potatoes; bind the mixture together with a beaten egg and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
- Put the water, lemon and salt in a large pan. Bring to the boil, then simmer for 5 minutes.
- Add the hake and simmer for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and leave to finish cooking gently in the cooking liquid.
- Melt 25g butter in a heavy-based pan and sprinkle over the flour.
- Stir continuously with a wooden spoon to mix and cook for 5 minutes.
- Gradually pour in the milk, stirring all the time, to make a smooth sauce.
- Add 290ml/0.5 pint of the fish cooking liquid and leave to simmer for 12 minutes.
- Drain the hake and cut into 4 portions. Place on four warmed plates.
- Stir the picked basil and the rest of the butter into the sauce.
- Place Colcannon in the centre of the plate with the fish on top.
- Pour the sauce over half the fish. I think dishes like this look more attractive if the fish is only partly covered.
