Smoked haddock and celeriac gratin
Smoked haddock and celeriac gratin, a rich, smoky side dish from Diana Henry's new book, How to Eat a Peach, (Mitchell Beazley, £25).
Diana's tips:
If you don’t want to use celeriac (which has quite a herbal flavour), you can make this with potato only, or a mixture of potato and Jerusalem artichoke, which will give a sweeter result. A green vegetable – purple-sprouting broccoli, cabbage or salad leaves – is all you need on the side.
Recipe information
Yield
Serves 8
Ingredients
Ingredients
Preparation
Method
Step 1
Heat the oven to 200°C/fan oven 180°C/mark 6. Trim the tops and root ends from the leeks and remove any discoloured outer layers. Slice, wash and put into a heavy-based saucepan or frying pan
with the butter. Heat until the butter has melted, then add a splash of water, reduce the heat to low, cover and sweat the leeks until completely soft, about 20 minutes. Check every so often to make sure they are not catching on the base of the pan.Step 2
Meanwhile, peel and finely slice the celeriac and potatoes: a mandoline is the best tool to use, if you have one. Put the vegetables into a saucepan with a broad, heavy base, add the cream and stock, and bring to the boil. Immediately reduce the heat so the mixture is gently simmering, then leave to cook for 15 minutes.
Step 3
Cut the fish into slices about 4cm wide. Put half the celeriac mixture into a gratin or pie dish, seasoning as you go (do not add too much salt because of the smoked haddock). Add half the leeks, then all the smoked haddock, then the other half of the celeriac and potatoes, then the rest of the leeks.
Step 4
Bake in the oven for 30 minutes, until the gratin is tender within and golden on top. Serve immediately.
