Award Winning Scottish Fish:
Smoked Plaice, Leek & Cheese Gratin
with Chervil & Lemon
Regular readers of Lavender and Lovage will know of my love of fish and seafood, in fact anything fishy (or in a shell) gets my vote. And, many of you may remember that I always buy my fish whenever I can from my friend John, over at Delish Fish; so when he contacted me recently and told me that he and his friends and colleagues at Amity Fish Co had won an award for their trio of smoked fish (at the Grampion Food Awards), I was not in the least bit surprised. The winning trio of fish comprises smoked haddock, smoked hake and smoked plaice, and John very kindly sent me some samples to try, along with some hake, fish pie mix, smoked hake and smoked plaice, and just in time for the Easter weekend.
Although I was keen to try the trio of fish, in a fish pie, it was the smoked plaice that grabbed my attention, as I don’t think I have ever seen smoked plaice before. I’ve enjoyed many a “breaded plaice and chips” in my time, and it was my paternal grandmother’s favourite dish to order when we visited a fish restaurant – but, smoked? No, I’ve never seen it before, so I decided to try this smoked delicacy for lunch one day. My first instinct was to make some “goujons” – a posh fish finger by any other name, and I will share my recipe for them soon; but, it’s my recipe for Smoked Plaice, Leek & Cheese Gratin with Chervil & Lemon I’m sharing today, perfect for lunch or supper on a cold spring evening.
This recipe is perfect for any smoked fish, and not just the delicious smoked plaice I was sent to sample; it’s very easy to assemble and the milk that the fish is poached in is also used in the savoury, eggy custard that the leeks and fish are baked in. I served the gratin with a baby gem lettuce salad, cherry tomatoes and some carrot salad for a light lunch, but, just swap the salad for steamed spuds and maybe some chard, kale or spinach, and you the makings of perfect supper dish. Make sure you have a generous wedge of lemon, and if chervil is a problem to source, then use parsley or chives instead. The chervil adds a mild and very pleasant aniseed flavour to the gratin which is perfect with fish, but especially smoked fish.
With a big thanks to John and all the team at Delish Fish and Amity Fish Co for my big box of prime Scottish fish; I will be sharing more recipes using this fish over the next few weeks, so do pop back. Karen
Smoked plaice, Leek and Cheese Gratin with Chervil and Lemon
Print recipe
| Serves | 2 |
| Prep time | 15 minutes |
| Cook time | 30 minutes |
| Total time | 45 minutes |
| Allergy | Egg, Fish, Milk |
| Meal type | Lunch, Main Dish, Snack |
| Misc | Gourmet, Serve Hot |
| Occasion | Casual Party, Christmas, Easter, Formal Party, Thanksgiving, Valentines day |
| Region | British |
| By author | Karen Burns-Booth |
Ingredients
- 4 skinned and boned fillets of smoked plaice (or any other smoked fish of your choice)
- 300mls Milk
- 2 small leeks, trimmed, washed and sliced thinly
- 25g butter
- 4 free-range eggs
- 50g grated Parmesan cheese
- zest and juice of 1 lemon (plus lemon wedges for serving)
- 1 tablespoon fresh chervil, chopped (plus extra for garnish)
- 50g grated Cheddar cheese
- salt and pepper to taste
Note
A simple and get elegant way to serve smoked plaice (or any smoked fish); this gratin has leeks, eggs, milk, cheese and herbs in it, making it a protein packed dish containing all of the essential food groups. Serve with salad and crusty bread.
Directions
| Step 1 | Pre-heat oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6. Grease a gratin dish with a little butter. |
| Step 2 | Poach the fish in the milk for 5 to 8 minutes, until it is opaque and flaky. Drain, reserving the milk and allow to cool before flaking the fish into small pieces. |
| Step 3 | Meanwhile, fry the leeks in the butter until soft. Add the flaked fish to the leeks and gently mix through. Place the leek and fish mixture into the buttered gratin dish. |
| Step 4 | Beat the eggs and add them to the poaching milk. Add the Parmesan cheese, lemon zest and juice, chervil and season to taste, being careful not to over salt, as the smoked fish is salty. |
| Step 5 | Pour the egg mixture over the leeks and fish and then sprinkle the grated Cheddar cheese over the top. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the savoury custard mixture is set and the cheese has melted and is golden brown. |
| Step 6 | Scatter some chopped fresh chervil over the top and serve with lemon wedges and assorted salads. |
As this recipe has fresh chervil in it, from my garden, I am entering it into Cooking with Herbs for April, which is hosted by me at Lavender and Lovage
Dominic Franks says
oh man, I think that dish is probably one of my favourite things to eat ever… yes please!
Karen Burns-Booth says
IT was so easy to make Dom and tasted divine!
Janie says
Karen that looks utterly perfect! Real comfort food. I adore fish too and would eat it a lot more often if Jonny didn’t despise it.
Janie x
Karen Burns-Booth says
Aww what a shame Janie, and with you living in Cornwall too, with all that wonderful fresh fish! Never mind, this could easily be made for one person if you fancied it one day!
Bintu @ Recipes From A Pantry says
I am a huge fan of smoked fish so your gratin has got my bells ringing. Will send this to OH too.
Karen Burns-Booth says
Thanks Bintu, I am sure you would love this too!
ManjiriK says
Hubby is a huge fan of fish and I absolutely love smoked fish! This is such a fab comfort food dish Karen, wish we were having it for tea right now!
Karen Burns-Booth says
Thanks Manjiri, wish you could pop over for tea too! 🙂
DANIELLE VEDMORE says
Lovely! I love smoked plaice but normally have it plan and poached – this is right up my street!
Karen Burns-Booth says
Thanks Danielle, I also love poached too, it’s so simple and comforting!
Chloe says
Lovely Karen, this sounds delicious, I just wish I could get my daughter to eat fish! I can just about sneak it into a cullen skink, which she will eat if she can’t see the fish. She’s a recent convert to fishfingers too, but only just. It feels like a prolonged battle because I really want to get more fish into our diet generally.
Karen Burns-Booth says
Thanks so much Chloe! Fish is one of my favourite products and luckily my mum introduced me and my sister to it when we were very young, so no sneaking it to our diets!! If she is eating fish-fingers, than that’s great and half the battle may have been won! K xxx
Chloe says
p.s. please excuse the excessive use of the word ‘fish’ in my earlier comment!
Karen Burns-Booth says
NO need to apologise for your overtly fishy comments Chloe! Hahahaha!
Steve Maskery says
I did this tonight, scaled down for one. I only had one fillet, but it was fine. I served it with a celeriac remoulade and it was excellent. One to keep.
Note: I smoked my own plaice, over hickory, for about 10mins. It was too long. 5 mins would have been better, plaice is a delicate flavour.
Even so, this was a delicious dinner.
Karen Burns-Booth says
Hi Steve,
Thanks for letting me know how this recipe was.
I have a big smoker, but I have yet to use it, but I am looking forward to smoking fish in particular.
Karen
Steve Maskery says
I did a one-day smoking and curing course last year, with Steve Lamb, from River Cottage. A good day, really enjoyed it. Recommended.
On t’Internet there is a lot about smoking huge chunks of brisket or pork shoulder, done for hours. I’m sure it is delicious. But fish is a lot more delicate. Even something robust, like haddock, doesn’t take long. And the wood makes a massive difference, too. Oak is good for salmon. I’m still learning. I have oak, hickory and apple at my disposal. Stay away from pine, it makes everything bitter, yuk.
I have a big offset BBQ thingy outside, but for jobs like this I use my stove-top tin-can Cameron’s smoker. It works very well. Just make sure you have a good extraction hood, or it will stink the house out! I really should have an affiliate link! 🙂
Happy smoking.
Karen Burns-Booth says
Thanks for all this, it’s really informative and very helpful. Karen