The combination of thick flakes of smoky, salty fish with fluffy, buttery mashed potato and lashings of creamy tangy sauce is heavenly. Add a soft-poached egg and flourish of chives and it’s Proper Job, as they say in Cornwall.
Serves 4
Prep: 20 min
Cook: 30 min
4 large potatoes, approx 800g
80g butter
500ml milk
4 thick fillets smoked haddock
40g flour
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
squeeze lemon
4 eggs (optional extra)
splash red wine vinegar
1 tbsp chopped chives or parsley
Peel, chunk, rinse and boil the potatoes in salted water. Drain. Melt 30g butter in 100ml milk in the potato pan, return the potatoes, mash smooth then beat thoroughly. Cover to keep warm. Meanwhile, place the fish, skin-side down in a pan that can hold the pieces in a single layer. Add remaining milk and sufficient water to just cover. Simmer for 5 minutes then carefully turn the fish and cook for a further 5 minutes or until the fish is just cooked through. Melt 50g butter in a medium pan and stir in the flour then the mustard. Off the heat, carefully strain the fish liquid in the pan, stirring constantly to make a smooth sauce. Return to the heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Add salt, lemon and pepper to taste. Boil the kettle. Crack one egg at a time into a cup and slip into a pan of vinegar seasoned simmering water. Simmer for 1-2 minutes until the white is set. Serve a mound of mash in the middle of hot plates, top with fish, remove the skin, add an egg (lifted with perforated spoon), hot sauce and chives or parsley. Phew.