Poached Smoked Haddock With Parsley Sauce

This was another make-it-up-as-you-go-along affair after some nice smoked haddock took my fancy the other day.

Find yourself a frying pan just big enough to house your fish fillets. Put the fish in the pan along with a couple of peppercorns and a bay leaf. Add some milk to the pan, just enough to cover the fish and bring it to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for about 8 minutes.

When the fish is cooked, remove it from the pan, reserving the milk, and keep it warm in a very low oven while you make the sauce.

Make a beurre manie by mixing a tablespoon of flour with a knob of very soft butter. Add the butter to the milk and bring it back up to the boil, stirring constantly. When the sauce starts to thicken, add a good handful of chopped parsley and stir through.

Serve the fish with the parsley sauce, creamy, herby mashed potatoes and griddled asparagus.

I had intended to serve this with a poached egg instead of the sauce but I completely forgot! Nevermind, the sauce was fab anyway.


The Bloke

Courgette Chutney

It's been a while since I've posted anything new; too long, I know. I've been trying to think of a reason other than I'm just plain lazy but, in all honesty, I'm too lazy to think of anything.

Right, courgettes. If you've been following me on Twitter (@blokeinkitchen) then you'll know I've been growing, amongst other things, courgettes this summer. It's turned out really well and I've had a fine crop but sometimes they've been coming through so quick that it's difficult to know what to do with them all.

I've made soup and had courgettes cooked in every way I can think of but following my recent success with gooseberry chutney, using gooseberries from my mum's garden, I've got the chutney bug and decided to put some of the larger courgettes to good use.

So, here goes, in approximate quantities:

140g raisins
2 Granny Smith apples (peeled and diced)
4 Cloves of garlic (peeled, smashed and roughly chopped)
1 Onion (peeled and diced)
1lb fat courgettes (peeled, de-seeded and diced)
1 inch of ginger (peeled and finely chopped)
300ml white wine vinegar
100g brown sugar
1 red chilli (finely chopped - seeds in/out - up to you)
Tablespoon of green peppercorns.

Because I'm lazy, I just put everything listed above into a large stainless steel pan, brought to the boil and simmered for about an hour, stirring frequently to make sure it doesn't stick. When the whole thing has reduced to a jammy consistency, pour into a sterlised glass jar, seal tight, allow to cool then put it in the fridge.

The texture of this chutney is more chunky than the gooseberry one and the chilli, ginger, garlic and peppercorns give it a good kick. I think it would be a good curry accompaniment, alongside the usual lime pickle and mango chutney but also with sausages, strong cheese and cold meats.

Hope you like it.



The Bloke