Crumble Crust Fish Pie (4)
Ingredients
Instructions
  1. Check the fish for any stray bones, but keep the skin in place for the moment. Lightly butter a baking dish or shallow pan, place the fish in it, skin-side down, and pour over the milk, topping up with a little water to just cover the fish.
  2. Add the bay leaf, peppercorns and a very fine grating of nutmeg. Place over a moderate heat, turning it down just before the milk boils. Leave to simmer gently for 5-10 minutes, until the fish is opaque and tender.
  3. Turn off the heat, remove the fish and strain the liquor to remove the bay leaf. Remove the skin from the fish and discard. Break the fish into large pieces and roughly chop the dill.
  4. Melt 40g of butter in a saucepan, add the flour and cook till pale biscuit-coloured, stirring almost constantly. Pour in the strained cooking liquid from the fish (adding more, if necessary, to make 500ml), stirring over a moderate heat till smooth.
  5. Cook over a low heat for 10 minutes, then fold in the fish. Season with salt, pepper, dill and parsley.
  6. While the sauce is cooking, slice the leeks thinly, give them a thorough rinse, then let them cook with 35g butter in a deep pan, covered with a lid, until they are soft. It is important that they don’t colour, so put a round of greaseproof paper on top of the leeks and cover with a lid, which will encourage them to steam.
  7. Gently fold the cooked leeks into the fish sauce, then transfer to an ovenproof dish.
  8. Set the oven at 180C/gas mark 4. To make the crumble, put the flour and butter into a food processor and blitz to the texture of fresh breadcrumbs. Alternatively, rub them gently together by hand. Fold in the oats, parmesan, a little salt and ground black pepper.
  9. Tip the crumble over the fish sauce. Bake for 40 minutes in the preheated oven until crisp and golden, and the filling is bubbling.