Fish in Cider

A Dish of Fish in Cider (or Inheritance Dishes)

If, like me, you're a regular listener to Radio 4's Saturday morning magazine programme 'Saturday Live', you'll already be familiar with the premise of its regular 'Inheritance Tracks' feature. For the uninitiated, a celebrity guest is asked to choose a couple of recorded songs: One they feel they have inherited, perhaps from a parent or grandparent; the second, a favourite of their own choosing that they would like to pass down to their own offspring. Applying a similar principle to food, I was musing on the dishes I had inherited from my parents, when this particular delight sprang to mind. The ultimate in comfort food, my dad first cooked this dish for us in the early 80s, having obtained the recipe from the back of an obliging Dry Blackthorn bottle. At the time, Gaymers, the owners of the Blackthorn brand, were running a series of cider based recipe ideas on the back of their bottles, presumably to draw attention to cider's versatility as an ingredient and, consequently, boost sales. This particular recipe, imaginatively entitled 'Cod in Cider', was notable at the time for its inclusion of a new fangled ingredient; the cherry tomato! Yes, believe it or not, the now ubiquitous cherry tomato was only introduced into the UK by M&S in 1982! 'Cod in Cider' rapidly became a family favourite and, in the early 90s, when I bought and renovated my first house, this was the first dish I cooked in its newly installed kitchen. More than 30 years on and it's still a firm favourite in the 'Native' household, albeit in a somewhat revised version. Like all recipes, it has developed over time, with the addition of smoked haddock, spinach and Gruyere and the inclusion of dill and/or parsley in the sauce. Never the most stylish of dishes, it's probably more suited to cosy suppers than posh dinner parties. That said, I'm sure none of your guests would be disappointed if you were to serve this as a starter, or main, at your next little soiree. Oh, and in case you're wondering what dish of my own I would want to pass down to my daughter; it's my method for making the perfect roast potato!

The Recipe

 (serves 2 to 3 as a hearty supper dish, maybe more as part of a three course dinner)

 

8oz fresh skinless cod loin or fillet, cut into bitesize chunks

 6oz good quality smoked haddock, skinned and cut into bitesize chunks 

7oz chestnut mushrooms, quartered (or halved, if small) 

8oz nicely ripe cherry plum tomatoes 

half pint good quality dry cider 

salt and freshly ground black pepper 

7oz young spinach, washed 

1oz unsalted butter 

1oz plain flour 

a small bunch of either dill, or parsley (or a mixture of the two), finely chopped 

4oz strong Cheddar, coarsely grated 

3oz Gruyere, coarsely grated

Preheat your oven to 200 degrees (gas mark 7). Lay the chunks of cod in the bottom of a 1.5L heavy duty baking dish and distribute the smoked haddock pieces evenly in between. 

Cover the fish with an even layer of the quartered mushrooms, followed by the cherry plum tomatoes, evenly interspersed, then gently press these down to settle them into place. 

Carefully pour the cider into the dish. Ideally, this should just cover the layer of cod and smoked haddock. 

 

Season the dish judiciously with salt and a liberal grinding of black pepper. Cover the dish tightly with kitchen foil and place in the preheated oven to poach for 25 minutes, or until one or two of the tomatoes have just split their skins. Meanwhile, add a little water to a large saucepan sufficient to just cover the base of the pan, add a good sprinkling of salt and bring to the boil, throw in the washed spinach and cook rapidly, stirring, until just wilted. Immediately strain through a colander and refresh the spinach under cold running water to arrest cooking. Once cool, gather the spinach into a ball and squeeze with your hands to expel any excess water. Place in a bowl, roughly tease the spinach leaves apart and put to one side.

 

10 minutes before the fish is due out of the oven, gently melt the butter in a non-stick saucepan, stirring occasionally. Once the butter has melted, add the flour to the pan to make a roux, stirring constantly. Once the flour has amalgamated, allow the flour to cook out over a gentle heat until the roux smells a little nutty, all the time ensuring it doesn't burn. Once you are happy with your roux, pull it off the heat, while you retrieve the baking dish from the oven. Carefully remove the foil from the dish, and inspect the tomatoes - a few should just be starting to split.

     

Once ready and with a steady hand, pour off all the hot cidery cooking liquor from the baking dish into a jug and set aside (an assistant, at this stage, might be helpful to ensure the fish, mushrooms and tomatoes remain in the baking dish!). Strew the reserved spinach over the contents of the baking dish and recover the dish with the foil to keep warm while you make the sauce.

 

To make the cider sauce, place the saucepan containing your roux back on a medium heat and stir until re-amalgamated and back up to temperature, then add half a pint of the reserved cooking liquor, a third at a time, stirring or whisking vigorously to ensure the sauce is lump free and until you have a velvety sauce the consistency of double cream. Turn the heat down to low, throw in the dill or parsley (or a mixture of the two, if that's your choice) and let the sauce gently bubble away for around 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until it has thickened slightly. Once you're happy with the consistency, pour the cider sauce evenly over the contents of the baking dish and push down a little with the back of a spoon to ensure the voids are filled. 

 

Mix the two cheeses together and sprinkle evenly over the now saucy contents of the baking dish. 

Place the dish under a hot grill and cook until the cheese layer is bubbling vigorously and beginning to brown. Spoon into warmed bowls, ensuring an even distribution of fish, mushrooms and tomatoes, amalgamating the sauce as you go. Serve with lots of crusty buttered bread to mop up those lovely cidery juices! Enjoy!