Smoked Haddock Chowder / Gruyere gratin

image courtesy of realrecipes.co.uk

*Part of the sizzling staffordshrie menu series*

Smoked haddock chowder is one of those fish dishes that is surprisingly comforting, whist being very hearty and nutritious. Its not too dissimilar from cullen skink, a scottish dish that is virtually symmetrical to this one. This dishes uses smoked haddock (as the title suggests) but you cna use other smoked fish if you wish (smoked trout is particularly good as an alternative). If you're not a fan of smoked fish, substitute for another by all means. I'm quite amenable when it comes to mixing it up.

This dish serves well as a meal in itself, although it can be adjusted to be lighter where necessary as a starter.

You will need (serves 4):
For the chowder:
450g smoked haddock (undyed preferrably, but ultimately up to you), skin removed and cut into 4 pieces.
4 rashers smoked bacon, cut into 1cm lardons
1 large onion, finely diced
500 ml bechamel
1 baking potato peeled and cut into a small dice (roughly 1/2 cm)
1 lemon zested and juiced
3 tbsp finely chopped parsley
1 tsp tarragon
tbsp butter

Gratin:

4 large baking potatoes, peeled and cut into thin slices
1/2 pint of milk.
Salt and pepper
4 handfuls of gruyere cheese (grated). You can use mature cheddar as an alternative

The doing bit:

Melt the butter in a large pan, add the onion and cook until the onion begins to soften.Add the bacon and cook for about 3-4 minutes, then add the potatoes and  bechamel. Heat until bubbling then reduce to a simmer. Add the lemon juice and zest, and herbs and simmer for 10 minutes. Add the haddock and cover the pan and simmer for a further 10 minutes, stirring occasionally then taste. Season accordingly with salt and pepper. Spoon mixture out into bowls and top with the gratin components (shown next).

For the gratin:

Add some salt and pepper to the milk in a pan, bring to a simmer then add the potatoes. When the potato slices have begun to soften take them out of the milk. You can use the milk for the chowder to make your bechamel at this stage if you prefer to do things the other way around. Add the slices to the top of the chowder and add the cheese to each one. Put bowls in a hot oven (220C) and cook until the cheese has melted and the potatoes have cooked through

Serve, and devour.

Leek & potato soup (with gratin)

Leek and potato soup is probably one of the soups out there that everybody loves. From my perspective its easy to understand why - the gentle onion flavour of leeks provides a wonder element to alot of dishes and in soups is quite unmistakable.

Here in present a twist on the original favourite, leek and potato soup with a potato gratin on top. Its a good deal more hearty than a leek and potato soup, but when i made this for mothers day I wanted a two dimensional element - a nice crisp on top with a sturdy cheese flavour, complementing the leek and bacon soup underneath.

You will need:

(for the soup)
4 leeks, washed trimmed and copped into small(ish) pieces.
1 medium sized potato peeled and cut into 1cm dice.
250ml milk
2 rashers of smoked bacon (cut into 1/2cm pieces)
pinch nutmeg
salt and pepper
250ml vegetable stock

For the gratin:
1 medium sized potato per serving, sliced very thinly (ideally on a mandolin)
mix of grated cheddar and parmesan

The doing bit:

In a large pan add a small amount of butter, heat till melted then add the bacon, potato and leeks on a moderate heat. Cover the pan and check every 3 minutes until the potatoes have coloured, and the leeks softened. At this point add the milk and nutmeg.  Bring to a simmer, then add the stock.Bring to a simmer once more until the potatoes have turned almost to mash. Remove from the heat and blend to a uniform consistency. Season where appropriate

For the gratin, sear each potato slice in a hot pan, then layer onto the soup in an ovenproof bowl overlapping until the soup is covered. Add the cheese and black pepper then put in a hot over (200C) until the soup is bubbling away, and the cheese has begun to do the same.

Devour.