Seafood is topped with creamy mash that blends into a rich sauce. Who says you shouldn't mix seafood and cheese?
150g hot-smoked salmon, broken into chunks
400g blue eye fillets, cut into 5cm chunks
400g good-quality marinara mix
2 cups frozen peas
2 tbsp finely shredded parsley
2 tbsp finely shredded dill
2 cups grated cheese
Salt and white pepper, to season
60g butter
1 onion, finely diced
½ bulb fennel, finely diced
¼ cup plain flour
1 cup milk
1 cube fish or chicken stock
2 cups grated cheese
1kg potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
150ml thickened cream
50g butter
Heat your oven to 200C fan-forced (220C conventional). For the mornay sauce, heat a medium saucepan over medium heat and add butter, onion and fennel. Fry for about 2 minutes until softened. Add the flour and stir to cook for a further minute or two. Add the milk a little at a time and stir to create a thick sauce. Crumble in the stock cube and stir through the cheese until melted. Combine the sauce with the seafood, peas, parsley and dill, reserving a little of the herbs for garnish. Transfer to a large baking dish.
For the mashed potatoes, place the potatoes into a large saucepan and cover with cold water. Simmer for about 15 minutes until the potatoes are tender. Drain, return to the pot and mash with the cream and butter to a smooth mash. Season very well with salt and pepper.
Top the seafood filling with the mash and scatter with the cheese. Bake for 15-20 minutes until the cheese is melted and golden brown. Scatter with the remaining herbs and serve.
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