I can’t claim to have come up with this idea on my own, but when you are writing a weekly recipe column (as I used to), your antennae are always out. This was one idea I saw around, and I am sorry that I can’t credit the person who came up with it, because it is really clever. The premise is that you make a fish pie inside a jacket potato skin, having scooped out the potato and mixed it with the fish pie filling. It’s perfect for this time of year, when you may want to eat something warm, standing up, outside.
Baked potato fish pie
Prep 15 min
Cook 1 hr 30 min
Serves 4
2 large baking potatoes
Neutral oil, for rubbing the potatoes
Salt and black pepper
50g unsalted butter
1 onion, peeled and finely diced
1 celery stalk, finely diced
½ fennel bulb, trimmed and finely diced
200ml vermouth
200g creme fraiche
300g skinless cod fillet, diced
200g shelled prawns
1 small bunch of chives, chopped
Squeeze of lemon juice
50g cheddar, grated
Heat the oven to 200C (180C fan)/390F/gas 6. Rub the potatoes with oil, season well on the outside and bake for an hour and 15 minutes, until a knife easily penetrates the flesh. Remove from the oven and leave to cool.
Meanwhile, melt the butter in a large, nonstick frying pan on a medium heat, then add the onion, celery and fennel. Sweat, without colouring, for about 10 minutes, until soft, then add a pinch of salt and the vermouth, and boil until the vermouth has almost all evaporated.
Add the creme fraiche, let it melt into the pan, then, when it is simmering, stir the cod and prawns into the sauce. Cook for a minute, then take off the heat.
Cut the cooled potatoes in half lengthways and scoop the flesh into the fish mixture. Stir to combine, then add the chives and a squeeze of lemon, and check the seasoning.
Put the halved potato shells on a baking sheet and fill them with the fish mixture. Cover with the grated cheddar, then put under a hot grill until the cheese melts. Serve in a napkin with wooden forks.
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This recipe is an edited extract from The Sportsman at Home, by Stephen Harris, published by Quadrille at £30. To get a copy for £27, visit guardianbookshop.com
