Creamed spinach – wilted, chopped and stirred into a thick, well-seasoned béchamel sauce – has long been one of my favourite kinds of comfort food. Adding some flaked smoked fish turns it into the sort of supper that will rescue anyone from the doldrums – especially if you top it with a poached egg.
Serves 2
250g spinach, any tough stalks removed
250g smoked pollack or haddock fillet
For the béchamel
350ml whole milk
1 bay leaf
A wedge of onion
25g butter
25g plain flour
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Wash the spinach and put it into a pan with just the water clinging to the leaves. Cover the pan and place over a medium heat for a few minutes, just until the spinach wilts. Drain in a colander, cool, then squeeze out the water and chop the spinach coarsely.
Put the fish in a saucepan and pour on the milk for the béchamel. Add the bay leaf, onion and a grinding of black pepper. Bring slowly to the boil, take off the heat and flip the fish over. Cover and leave to cook in the residual heat for 3 minutes. Turn the fish over and check that it is cooked – the flesh should be opaque and flake easily from the skin. If it’s not quite done, leave it in the covered pan for a couple of minutes longer. Remove the fish with a slotted spoon. Strain the milk.
Heat the butter in a medium saucepan over a medium heat until melted and bubbling. Stir in the flour to make a smooth roux and cook gently for 2–3 minutes. Remove from the heat and add about a quarter of the warm, fishy milk. Beat vigorously to form a smooth paste. Add another quarter of the milk and beat again until smooth. Repeat with the remaining milk. When you have a smooth, fishy béchamel sauce, return it to the heat and let it simmer gently, stirring often, for 4–5 minutes. Take off the heat.
Stir the chopped spinach into the sauce. Flake the smoked fish off the skin in reasonably large chunks, removing any bones as you go, and add it straight to the sauce. Stir the fish in very gently so as not to break up the flakes too much. Taste and add pepper, and salt only if necessary – the fish will have contributed salt.
PLUS ONE I love to serve this dish topped off with a poached egg or two. (See here for egg poaching instructions.)
ANOTHER TAKE This is also lovely as a gratin: spread the spinach and fish mixture in a shallow gratin dish, scatter breadcrumbs on top and dot with butter. Flash under the grill until golden brown.