CHEDDAR CRUSTED HADDOCK WITH A CREME FRAICHE SAUCE

I am trying to cook more fish this year as it is so good for you and much healthier than most meats. I am never that excited about eating fish - its not exactly a four cheese and pepperoni pizza, is it? - however I generally really enjoy it when I eat it.

This is from a Waitrose recipe card and it took around 20 minutes. I actually didnt follow the recipe exactly as I did not read the card properly but it worked out well in the end.

Ingredients for 2 people:

2 haddock fillets (about 150g each)
2 rounded tablespoons of half fat creme fraiche
15g pack of fresh chives, snipped (I couldnt buy chives and so used dill)
20g butter
150ml whole milk (I just used semi skimmed as that is what I had)
Black pepper
1 tablespoon
3 rounded tablespoons grated cheddar cheese

To serve:
Peas

Preheat the grill to its highest setting with the shelf about 15cm from the heat and line a baking tray with buttered foil.

In a frying pan, place the fish skin side down and add a little freshly milled black pepper but no salt. Then pour in the milk - it wont cover the fish completely but that doesnt matter. Bring the heat up so it simmers gently (uncovered) for around 6-8 minutes - I did 8 minutes.

Meanwhile mix the breadcrumbs and cheese and season with black pepper. I never have preprepared breadcrumbs so I just blitz some bread in the blender and make my own.

When the fish is ready, transfer to the lined baking tray using a fish slice and then sprinkle with the cheese and breadcrumb mixture. Pop under the grill for 5-6 minutes until the topping is golden and bubbling. I also started boiling the water and got ready to cook the peas at this point.

This is where I went wrong in the recipe - after removing the fish from the frying pan, I automatically put the pan in the sink and covered with washing up liquid. In fact, I was meant to use this left over milk as the basis of the sauce. Whoops! So if you want to do it the proper way, whisk the creme fraiche into the frying pan of milk over a medium heat. I just heated the creme fraiche with some black pepper in a saucepan.

Add the butter and some chives (or dill in my case), keep a few left over to sprinkle with at the end. Taste and season if necessary.

When everything is ready, serve the fish with the peas and a big dollop of sauce. Finally sprinkle with a few leftover herbs.

Even though I messed up the sauce, my version worked really well and added some moisture to the fish as even though I loved the cheese topping, it was a little dry. Arabella had a touch of mayonnaise however I am sure a spoonful of tartar sauce would also work well. We served this with peas however new potatoes and spinach would also work very well - Arabella suggested french fries although that would change the health factor!!

I would definitely cook this again as its a nice way to serve fish, next time I just need to read the recipe properly!!

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