Smoked Haddock with Cheese Sauce

Smoked haddock makes a deliciously simple meal. Poached in a little milk which you then make a quick cheese sauce with and served on a bed of mashed potatoes and greens.

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4 Portions
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Prep: 5 minutes
Cook: 10 minutes

Ingredients

Haddock

  • 4 (175g) natural smoked haddock fillets, boned, skinned and sliced in half lengthwise
  • 2 garlic cloves, crushed with the side of a knife
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 3 peppercorns
  • 300ml milk

White Sauce

  • 25g butter
  • 25g flour
  • 1 tsp hot english mustard

To Serve

  • Mashed Potato
  • rocket, salad spinach or watercress or a combination

Method

Haddock

  1. Place the haddock in a large saucepan, add the garlic, lemon and bay leaf. Pour in enough milk to just cover the haddock (pour any remaining milk into a saucepan and set aside). Place over a moderate high heat and leave to gently simmer for up to 5 minutes until just cooked.
  2. Carefully strain the milk into a saucepan with the milk, leaving the haddock in the pan. Cover the haddock with buttered foil and keep warm while you prepare the sauce.

White Sauce

  1. Melt the butter in a saucepan over a moderate heat, stir in the flour so that the two are well combined and not wet. Remove from the heat and gradually stir in the warm smoked haddock milk with a wooden spoon. Return to a moderate heat and slowly stir continuously until it comes to a strong simmer reduce to a slow simmer and continue to stir for a couple of minutes until you have a sauce that coats the back of a spoon. Stir in the cheese and mustard, so that the cheese has melted and the ingredients are well incorporated. Serve.

To Serve

  1. Place a generous handful of rocket or watercress in the centre of each plate, top with some mashed potato followed by the smoked haddock. Spoon the sauce over the fish and serve.