Recipe: fish gratin by Rockfish’s Mitch Tonks

This hearty fish dish is a quick and delicious alternative to a traditional fish pie recipe, says Mitch Tonks, founder of the Rockfish seafood restaurant group.

It is perfect for enjoying with family or friends in the comfort of your home this winter.

Ingredients

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• 1 x Rockfish (or shop-bought) fish pie mix (monkfish, smocked pollack, whiting and ling)
• 100g shell on prawns (some peeled, some unpeeled)
• 2 x leeks
• 2 x spring onions
• 25g butter + additional for grating
• 150ml double cream
• 300ml milk
• 1tbsp plain flour
• 1tsp English mustard
• a few black and pink peppercorns
• handful grated parmesan
• handful of breadcrumbs
• handful of chopped parsley

Method

• Pour the milk into a saucepan. Add a bay leaf, a few black and pink peppercorns, English mustard and fish pie mix. Bring to the boil and then leave to simmer.
• Chop the leeks finely and add to a dry frying pan - keep stirring to avoid catching on the pan.
• Once the leeks have softened, add the butter and mix until it has fully melted. Add the flour and mix.
• Keeping the fish in the saucepan, slowly add the milk to the leeks, whilst stirring, to form a sauce.
• Add the double cream, chopped spring onions and a pinch of salt and pepper. Keep stirring as you add the fish and then the prawns.
• Transfer the mix into an oven-safe dish, then top with the grated butter, parmesan and breadcrumbs. Pop under the grill on a high setting until crispy and golden on top.
• Remove from the oven, top with some chopped parsley and serve alongside a crisp salad and some new potatoes.

An acclaimed restaurateur, chef and author of seven successful cookbooks, Mitch Tonks’s passion for British seafood stemmed from his childhood in Weston-Super-Mare. In 2010, he opened the first Rockfish restaurant, a group which now has nine branches across the South West coast.

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