Cape Times

Snoek cottage pie

INGREDIENT­S

For the filling:

1 lightly smoked snoek (about 500g)

100g butter, melted

1 lemon, juiced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 onion, finely chopped

200g brown mushrooms, sliced

100g fresh peas

1 cup cream

1 cup milk

35g flour

1/2 t nutmeg

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

For the topping:

1kg potatoes

2 T butter

2 T chives, chopped

1/2 cup cream

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

METHOD

To make the filling, drizzle the snoek with 1 T melted butter and the lemon juice. Grill until done (you can also braai it for an extra-smoky flavour). Set it aside to cool slightly. Flake the snoek and remove the bones and skin.

In a separate pan, sauté the garlic and onion in the remaining butter until soft and translucen­t. Add the mushrooms and peas and fry over a medium heat for 1 minute.

Whisk the milk, cream and flour together and add to the pan. Stir continuall­y to make sure lumps don’t form. Simmer for 1 minute. Once the sauce is thick, add the flaked snoek and stir to combine. Season. Spoon the mixture into an ovenproof casserole or serving dish.

To make the filling, peel and cut the potatoes into equal-sized cubes. Cook the potatoes in about 1.5 litres of simmering water until tender.

Drain the potatoes through a sieve and place the sieve over a bowl. While the potatoes are still hot, use the back of a wooden spoon to push the potatoes through the sieve. This prevents lumpy mash. Add the butter, chives and enough cream to make the mash soft but not runny. Season.

Scoop the mash onto the filling. You can grill it to get a nice golden and crispy top to your cottage pie or crack some pepper on top and top with breadcrumb­s and serve immediatel­y.