Creamy Seafood Pie with Colcannon Mash

Instructions

1. 01

   In a Dutch oven on low heat, sweat off the leeks in 25g of butter until they are soft. Remove from the pot and set aside.

2. 02

   In a small saucepan, heat the milk until it’s just about to simmer. Add the fresh seafood and poach in the milk until cooked. Larger pieces (like salmon) will take about 6-8 minutes, while small prawns will take considerably less time. Once the seafood is cooked, remove from the saucepan with a slotted spoon and set aside.

3. 03

   On a low heat, melt the remaining 60g butter in the Dutch oven. Add the flour and stir to combine into a paste. Cook, stirring continuously, on low heat for 5 minutes. This is needed to cook out the flour.

4. 04

   Add 1 cup of the poaching milk continually stirring to allow the milk to incorporate into the flour mixture (or roux). At this stage, change from using your wooden spoon to stir to a whisk. It will make it much easier to get a smooth, creamy sauce. Gradually add the remaining milk a little at a time, stirring continuously until the mixture resembles a thick, creamy sauce. A bechamel sauce can take a lot of liquid, so don’t be afraid if it looks really runny. Cooking the sauce will cause the sauce to thicken. If it thickens too much, just add more milk.

5. 05

   Add the grated cheeses and stir through to melt them into the sauce.

6. 06

   Flake the cooked salmon and add to the bechamel sauce along with the cooked prawns, mussels, and rainbow trout. Give it a good stir to combine all the seafood with the bechamel sauce.

7. 07

   Add the frozen peas, and chopped parsley. Season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.

8. 08

   Cut all the potatoes into roughly the same size. (I normally aim for a 4cm square rough chop.) In a pot, place the potatoes and enough water to cover them. Pop on the stove and bring to the boil. Continue to boil until potatoes are cooked through and soft.

9. 09

   In a saucepan, warm the milk and the bay leaf til hot, but not boiling. Discard the bay leaf and pop aside.

10. 10

    In a frypan, sweat of the cabbage in half of the butter. When the cabbage has softened, add the spinach and season with salt and pepper. Don’t overcook the spinach. It will wilt quite quickly once it hits the heat. Remove from heat and pop aside.

11. 11

    Remove potatoes from the stove and drain of water. Mash the potatoes and add the remaining butter. Stir it through till melted and incorporate it into the potato along with the hot milk. Stir until the potato has absorbed the milk. Add cabbage mix and spring onions. Combine. Season with salt and pepper to your taste.

12. 12

    Spoon the colcannon mash all over the top of the seafood mornay and sprinkle with remaining 30g grated cheddar. Bake in a preheated 200-degree oven for 30 minutes until bubbling and golden.