The grate and the good

Saturday 24 December 2011

Cookery: smoked haddock and leek rosti with an olive oil and herb mayonnaise.

Custom byline text:

martin wishart

This week's recipe uses a widely available and wonderful ingredient – smoked haddock. Whether you choose a cold-smoked haddock such as Finnan haddie or hot-smoked fish like an Arbroath smokie is a matter of preference, but you could do worse than cure and smoke your own fillets – you can buy a smoker for less than £40.

If you choose to try it then select the largest fillets and use a good-quality smoke chip. The larger fillets give more moisture and are less prone to drying out, and the quality of the wood chip determines the flavour. Before embarking on this recipe, make sure you have four metal rosti rings measuring around 7cm in diameter. These are inexpensive, with many uses in the kitchen, and are a sound investment.SMOKED HADDOCK AND LEEK ROSTI WITH AN OLIVE OIL AND HERB MAYONNAISEServes 4HADDOCK AND LEEK ROSTI2 large Rooster potatoes250ml milk1 fillet of smoked haddock1 leek50g melted butter1tsp chopped parsleyHERB MAYONNAISE2 egg yolks1tsp dijon mustard1tbsp white wine vinegar100ml olive oil1tsp chopped herbs (chives, chervil and tarragon)Peel the potatoes and put them in a pan of cold salted water. Bring the water to a simmer and cook the potatoes for 5 minutes, then drain them. Allow the potatoes to cool a little, then grate them and set aside.In a small saucepan, warm the milk to a gentle simmer and poach the haddock in it for 2 minutes, removing then flaking the fish into large pieces.Peel off the outer layers of the leek and cut it in half. Chop 25g of it finely and add it to a large bowl along with the grated potato, flaked haddock and melted butter. Mix well and season with salt and the chopped parsley.Oil four rosti rings, press the mixture into them then refrigerate until firm. Set the oven to 180C/gas mark 4. Ease the cakes out of the rings and saute them in olive oil for 2-3 minutes on each side until golden brown then finish them in the oven for 10 minutes.For the herb mayonnaise, place the yolks, mustard and white wine vinegar in a bowl and whisk until light and twice the volume. Gradually add the olive oil, whisking continuously to emulsify the oil, then fold in the chopped herbs. Serve one rosti per person with the mayonnaise and a small salad.WINE MATCH2010 Soave Latium, Campo De Calle, Veneto, Italy, Alliance Wines, £8.10Intense and full, this soave has aromas and flavours of stone fruits and a long, mineral finish.The Honours, 58a North Castle Street, Edinburgh. Visit www.thehonours.co.uk or call 0131 220 2513.

Commenting & Moderation

We moderate all comments on HeraldScotland on either a pre-moderated or post-moderated basis. If you're a relatively new user then your comments will be reviewed before publication and if we know you well then your comments will be subject to moderation only if other users or the moderators believe you've broken the rules, which are available here.

Moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours. Please be patient if your posts are not approved instantly.

The grate and the good

Commenting & Moderation

MOST READ

SPONSORED LINKS

MOST COMMENTED