Smoked Haddock & Apple Pie with a Kick

There's no pic of this one for the simple reason that we were feeding Nav, who brought some lovely Ryton Organic veg to accompany the pie and I forgot to take photos in all the excitement. 

The smoked haddock was a half price bargain from the Co-op, but I think the flavour would have been better from Clive Miller on the market. I incorporated the apple because I think we should work season free fruit into our meals where we can - hardly a chore as it was a real winner. 

Ingredients

2 filets of smoked haddock 

2 apples, cored and roughly chopped - no need to peel

Spring onions

A few of Mel's delicious French beans

Potatoes

Butter

Milk &/or cream

Cheese (I used cheddar)

Salt & pepper

Smoked paprika

For the cheese sauce:

Tablespoon butter

Tablespoon flour

Milk

Half tspn cayenne pepper

Ground black pepper

Grated cheese to taste, I used cheddar

Boil the potatoes for the mash. Add salt to the water if that's your thing. 

Fry the apples and the spring onion in the butter. Take the skin off the fish, roughly chop and add to the pan. Fry for a few minutes and then add the beans. Leave on a low heat while you make the sauce. 

This is a simple cheese sauce. I'm not a big measurer of ingredients (apart from rice - I'll always cook too much rice unless I weigh it) but if you keep the butter and the flour roughly equivalent, all you have to do is melt the butter then add the flour & the cayenne pepper and stir to make a roux. Add milk whilst stirring vigorously until you have a nice, smooth sauce. Then turn the heat down and add the cheese, stirring until it's melted in. Taste it and add more cheese to taste. The sauce will have a kick, but that will subside as the pie cooks, so don't panic at this stage. 

Put the fish into an oven-proof dish and pour the sauce in, then mix well. 

Drain and mash the potatoes. Don't stint on the butter and milk - add cream if you have some in the fridge. You want them fluffy. 

Spoon the mash onto the fish and sauce. Grate cheese onto the top and sprinkle smoked paprika. 

Pop into the oven for 20 - 25 minutes until the topping is golden brown. 

We served with buttered cauliflower and courgette.