Leek and Smoked Fish Bake

September 16, 2003

I think the local post office people are wondering if I run some sort of trade in illicit goods. During recent weeks they have delivered quite a number of parcels to my address - generally largish light parcels. Occasionally instead there will be a card in the letterbox asking me to collect a parcel from the post office. I might be imagining things, but the staff seem to give me funny looks when they hand the parcels over. And they say things lik : "Ooh, that's light." One day there were four parcels to be collected. "Birthday, then?‚" one asked.

I'll keep them guessing.

Fact is I collect small trinket boxes and pin dishes and I have discovered a local auction site on the Internet is a good place to buy items for my collection. Invariably the sellers package the goods well in copious quantities of bubble wrap and use fairly large boxes for such small items.

I have long had a fascination with antiques and I find the Internet is a great place to research collectables. After seeing so much on screen, it was very interesting to go to an antiques fair a few days ago and check out how much I'd learned while browsing the Net.

While being fairly forbearing about my trading activities, The Spouse had never really been deeply interested but he was soon scrutinising the various bits of china, almost with enthusiasm. He even ended up making a couple of purchases himself. I suggested he might like to start a toby jug collection and he didn't reject the idea outright. He'd told me the post office people probably thought I was trading in drugs and I have to say I did feel a bit like an addict trying to get someone else hooked when I mentioned the toby jugs…

Sky television here shows The Antiques Roadshow each week night at 7.30. It is preceded by a different cooking show each night and I do my best to get the meal preparations complete so I can watch both. I like dishes that can be left in the oven to finish cooking and don't require further input from me once the initial preparations have been done. Today's dish is one such meal.

Smoked Fish and Leek Bake

2 medium leeks
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon canola oil
1/3 cup flour
1 cup milk
1/2 cup chopped curly parsley
salt and white pepper
500 grams smoked fish
6 medium potatoes, scrubbed
1/2 cup grated cheese

Start by cooking the whole potatoes in boiling salted water till tender and set aside to cool down a little.

Chop the leeks into 1cm rings, making sure the tops are well washed to remove any dirt.

Heat the butter and oil in a large saucepan and saute the leeks for a few minutes until they wilt. Stir in the flour, combining it with the butter and oil. Gradually add the milk, stirring well, and the parsley, and let the sauce come to the boil and turn down the heat and allow it to cook for another three or four minutes. Season with salt and white pepper. You may not need any salt if the smoked fish is salty.

Remove any skin from the smoked fish and discard. Chop the fish into chunks and add to the sauce (1). Pour into an ovenproof dish.

Now slice the cooked potatoes and place the slices over the top of the fish mixture. Sprinkle with the grated cheese (2) and bake in a pre-heated 190C oven until the mixture bubbles and the cheese browns.

Serve with one or two additional vegetables or a salad.