Ooh, a little twist

Earlier today I was having a chat with two of the loveliest ladies I have ever had the pleasure to meet. (Tina and Beverley, you know I am talking about you...) The three of us have a couple of things in common: we are all reasonably old-fashioned in our way of thinking, are all just a tad crazy and are all super smart... In the space of half an hour we chatted about hats, to having a party, to party-poopers, to old-fashioned foods such as deviled eggs and tuna casserole, to husband-bashing (regardless where they are, if something goes wrong they are to blame)...

At the mention of fish, all three of us independently decided that since fish was brought up in the chat we all of a sudden had a craving for fish for our tea... Fish and Tartare Sauce (nearly there for a gorgeous fish finger sandwich), Fish with mash and peas (getting close to the perfect fish pie)... But I couldn't decide on what I fancied. That was until I saw the lasagna sheets in the kitchen cupboard. At this point in time I decided that I just had to have Italian Fish Pie...

It's been nearly 20 years since I first tried this recipe. And it wasn't even a proper recipe, more like an idea in my head that I thought would work. People who know me, know that I love pasta but I am not keen on traditional lasagna as this comes with a minced-meat-and-tomato based sauce... Nothing wrong with it but I am just not that keen on the texture. But I did like the idea of layers of pasta with a rich sauce, Béchamel, vegetables and cheese. Then again, anything drenched in cheese is alright in my book...

It was then that I decided to try the standard old lasagna with fish instead. As the fish wouldn't be able to stand up to the rich tomato sauce I decided to leave this out and just use a good white sauce instead. It was an instant success and over the years I have made many variations with different types of fish and seafood, vegetables and cheeses but always sticking to the same principal; layers of pasta, good white sauce, fresh fish, seasonal vegetables and good cheese. Besides the fresh fish, I also like to use some smoked fish, like natural smoked haddock, for that little extra something. Although many variations are possible, here follows my 'standard' version as I like to call it

Italian Fish Pie

Ingredients:

• 250 gram fresh cod (cut into bite sized pieces)
• 250 gram salmon (cut into bite sized pieces)
• 250 gram smoked haddock (cut into bite sized pieces)
• enough lasagna sheets to make four layers (use dried pasta as fresh will overcook in the time it takes to cook the fish)
• 500 gram fresh spinach, washed and dried
• 4 soft-boiled eggs (optional)
• 50 grams butter
• 50 grams flour
• enough milk to make a medium thick sauce
• 4 spring onions, very finely chopped (optional)
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced (optional)
• salt, pepper and nutmeg to taste
• 100 grams grated cheddar cheese
• 1 ball of mozzarella

Method:

1. Use the butter, flour and milk to make the medium thick Sauce Béchamel (white sauce) and season with salt, pepper and nutmeg
• For extra flavour add the finely chopped spring onion and minced garlic to the butter before you add the flour
2. Preheat the oven to 180ºC
3. Add a little sauce to the bottom of a large, rectangular, ovenproof dish
4. Place lasagna sheets on top of the sauce, enough to fill the dish lengthwise (don't worry if you need to overlap the sheets slightly)
5. Divide the fish into three even portions and place the first portion on top of the lasagna sheets
6. Divide the spinach into three even portions and place the first portion on top of the fish
7. Cover the fish and spinach with the sauce and repeat steps 4 to 6 two more times
• If you are using the eggs, peel the eggs, cut into half and place them on top of the spinach after the second layer
8. After the third layer of pasta, fish, spinach and sauce; place the last layer of lasagna sheets on top and cover with the rest of the white sauce
9. Sprinkle the cheddar over the lasagna and tear the mozzarella on top of the cheddar
10. Bake the lasagna in the middle of the oven for about 20-25 minutes

For an extra luxurious filling try adding some prawns or other shellfish or add some ricotta to every layer. The vegetables can be adjusted to what is readily available or personal preference but I would stick with green vegetables such as broccoli and spinach.

Enjoy

Jack of all trades...

Earlier this year, I started this blog with the intention of writing regularly (at least once a week) about the things that occupy my mind, the things that I am most passionate about. So far, I've written seven posts (not nearly as much as I intended to do...) that were all about politics and the NHS. Don't get me wrong; they are important issues and I am very passionate about the NHS but it is not what I am most passionate about.

Children are often asked what they want to be when they grow up. Depending on their age, most children will answer something along the lines of mommy, policeman, fire fighter, dancer, teacher... My answer? That went from: 'I don't know' to micro-biologist (until I found out that you need to be very good at physics) to archaeologist to 'I don't know' to chef to baker and back to 'I don't know'. There were several other options in between but those are the ones that stick out most. Children eventually decide on one or the other, go to school, get their qualification and don't look back. By the time I reached sixteen, I decided that school just wasn't for me and I started work (not advisable) thinking I would figure it all out that way.

Work encompassed everything from working in the local brewery, the pub and various restaurants, to working for a poultry factory, major manufacturing company, construction company, fire safety company. The type of work I did was just as varied: planner (from routes to events to staff), cleaner, secretary, administrator, baker, (pastry)chef, line worker. After twenty years, this has taught me a few things:

1) it is easier to get a nice job if you have qualifications or plenty of work experience,

2) I am a lousy employee (I tell my manager when they are wrong about something,

3) the only job worth doing is the one you enjoy or are passionate about, and

4) I still don't know what I want to be when I grow up

The one thing I enjoyed more than anything else was cooking and baking. Even as a young kid I would cook and bake (with or without the help of recipes) and my size will attest that food is my biggest passion. And so,

thirty (or so) years after that dreaded question I can finally say: 'When I grow up I want to open up my own food place. Not a restaurant or a bakery, but more along the lines of a small bistro. A little place where people can come for good, honest food. All home/hand-made and nothing frozen. And it has to be everything from the best burger ever to fresh seafood, and toasties and fresh baked goods such as scones and hearty steak pie.'

That is what my husband (a former trained chef and butcher) and I will be working towards; enough money to buy a little place on the Yorkshire coast where we can start for ourselves.

For the blog it means a shift in the kind of articles I have written; from politics and the NHS to the one thing that makes my heart race and my mouth water: food, glorious food. The next posts will be all about my favourite food and recipes. I hope you will like them as much as I do.