- 2 onion
- 2 carrot
- 1000g potatoes
- 2 garlic clove
- 100g baby leaf spinach
- 2 vegetable stock cube
- 4 smoked haddock fillets
- 2 lemon
- 1 x 200ml half fat crème fraîche
- ½ tbsp olive oil
- Sea salt
- Freshly ground pepper
- 500ml boiling water
- Deep frying pan or wok
- Measuring jug
- Baking tray (optional)
- 1.
Fill your kettle and boil it. Peel and finely chop the onion. Trim the carrot, then dice it to match the onion. Scrub the potatoes, then cut them into slices around 1cm-thick.
- 2.
Warm a deep frying pan or wok on a medium heat for 1 min. Add ½ tbsp olive oil, the onion and carrot. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper and fry, stirring often, for 5 mins till the veg are just starting to soften.
- 3.
While the veg fry, peel and finely chop or crush the garlic. Finely grate the zest from the lemon, then halve the lemon and set aside. When the veg have cooked for 5 mins, add the garlic and cook, stirring for 1 min. Add the baby leaf spinach and the vegetable stock cube. Stir to mix, then add the potatoes to the pan. Stir gently to just mix everything together.
- 4.
Pour 500ml boiling water from the kettle into pan. Pop on a lid (or use a baking tray if you don’t have a lid). Bring to the boil, then turn the heat down a little and simmer for 10 mins till the potatoes are nearly cooked but still a little firm.
- 5.
After 10 mins, carefully place the smoked haddock fillets in the pan. Cover with a lid and simmer for 6-8 mins to finish cooking the spuds and poach the haddock. The fish will be opaque and flakes easily when pressed with a fork.
- 6.
When the fish and veg are ready, take them off the heat. Add most of the lemon zest and squeeze the juice from half the lemon over the pan. Lift the haddock fillets out into 2 warm dishes.
- 7.
Spoon half the pot of crème fraîche into the pan of veg and gently stir to mix. Taste and add more salt or pepper if you think it needs it. Spoon the veg and sauce around the haddock, and serve garnished with the last of the lemon zest, with wedges of the remaining lemon for squeezing.
- Tip
Crème of the crop
Your leftover half fat crème fraîche will keep for a couple of days in the fridge. To use it up, try roasting some beetroot with garlic and cumin seeds till soft. Cool, then blitz in a food processor with the remaining crème fraîche and a squeeze of lime juice. This makes a perfect pink dip for dunking crisps and crudités.