Super Smoked Kahawai Fish Pie

The Family have been fishing

They caught some Kahawai

This local fish, is a slightly oily fish

It needs to be bled as soon as caught.

Makes great fish cakes, not exactly a fish to pan fry

Chris home smoked it

He really nailed it

It was so moist and full of flavour

(Not too smoky. I not an over-smoked type of person

Must be all those years smoking cigarettes. Got enough smoke then, to last a lifetime!!!)

Anyway, I digressed, sorry.

What to do with Smoked Kahawai, 

of course Smoked Fish Pie

A Super Fish Smoked Pie

I have taken all the ideas for Fish Pies, that I have made over the years

I think I really got it with this one.

Sweet, lightly sautéed leeks, grated carrot and not a bit of cheese in sight

Lovely citrus, from fresh lemons

My secret ingredient this time, was some leftover Hollandaise sauce.

Genius!

We had a trip to the country in the weekend and came home with lots of Fresh, fresh, fresh vegetables, including Asparagus.

Plus gnarly juicy lemons off Debbie’s tree

Don’t you love spring?

My friend John McCready, put a post on Facebook of his Asparagus and Poached Egg dish.

Gave me inspiration

Looked very good but need a little something else.

Hollandaise is an excellent added extra.

First find a So Simple recipe

Found this on the net for an easy peasy Hollandaise Sauce

From a blog site by Elise Bauer  click here to connect to Elise 

 

    3 egg yolks (see how to separate eggs)

    1 tablespoon lemon juice

    1/2 teaspoon salt

    1/8 teaspoon cayenne (optional)

    10 tablespoons unsalted butter

Method

1 Melt the butter slowly in a small pot.

Try not to let it boil – you want the moisture in the butter to remain there and not steam away.

2 Add the egg yolks, lemon juice, salt and cayenne (if using) into your blender.

Blend the egg yolk mixture at a medium to medium high speed until it lightens in color, 

about 20-30 seconds.

The friction generated by the blender blades, will heat the yolks a bit.

The blending action will also introduce a little air into them,

making your hollandaise a bit lighter.

3 Once the yolks have lightened in color, 

turn the blender down to its lowest setting

(if you only have one speed on your blender it will still work),

and drizzle in the melted butter slowly, while the blender is going.

Continue to buzz for another couple seconds after the butter is all incorporated.

4 Turn off the blender and taste the sauce.

It should be buttery, lemony and just lightly salty.

If it is not salty or lemony enough,

you can add a little extra lemon juice or salt to taste.

If you want a thinner consistency, add a little warm water.

Pulse briefly to incorporate the ingredients one more time.

Store until needed in a warm spot, like on or next to the stovetop.

Use within an hour or so.

I placed the Hollandaise into a little insulated container

to keep it warm 

The Leftover sauce went into the fridge, in the container and frankly was fine the next day

Hence the addition to my Super Fish Pie

In fact such a great addition to my Fish Pie, I would make it especially for a special occasion. 

So on with the Asparagus Dish

The whole thing was delicious

Just cook some Asparagus

and Poach an Egg

I added some cooked Prawns as it was dinner 

Smothered it with Hollandaise sauce 

Just break the yolk
Divine

Sorry it has taken me ages to get to the main recipe, but here ya go.

Finally

 

Super Smoked Fish Pie 

To feed 4 people

200 gms Smoked fish of your choice flaked , check for bones

Slosh olive oil

1 leek washed and sliced

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper 

Little water

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 carrot grated

4 tablespoons plain flour

2 cups full fat milk, warmed

Sea salt and freshly ground black freshly ground black pepper

Zest of I lemon

2 tablespoons lemon juice

4 large potatoes peeled and chopped

1/4 cup hot milk

3 teaspoons cold butter

White pepper

Potato Topping

Cook potatoes in boiling salted water, till fork tender

Mash, or put through a ricer for really smooth potatoes

Add hot milk

Beat well and beat in the cold butter

Season with a little ground white pepper

Set aside

Leek layer

In a medium size sauté pan, gently heat the olive oil

Add sliced leeks

Season with S & P and toss well

Cook for about 2 minutes

Add about 2 tablespoon water

Cover and cook about 4 minutes, till just soft but still nice and green

Remove from pan and set aside

Sauce

In a pot add butter

Melt

Add grated carrot

Sauté till soft

Season with S & P

Add flour and stir and cook for 3-4 minutes

Add milk and stir well till thickens

Let gently bubble, approx 4 minutes

Continue to stir so that it doesn’t stick

Add juice and zest of lemon

Add Hollandaise Sauce

Taste and adjust seasoning if it needs it

Stir well, add flaked fish and

Set aside

Time to assemble

In a gratin dish

Line with a small layer of the sauce

Cover with the leeks

Cover them with the fish sauce

Plonk the potatoes on top and fork it to make a raised pattern

Into 180C over and cook for 30 minutes

It should be golden and bubbling

So delicious, this is a Dinner Party Dish