Snoek and cottage pie are undoubtedly two of South-Africans’ favourite dishes to dig into, and we can’t blame you. We’ve put two-and-two together and the result is this mouth-watering snoek cottage pie.
Snoek cottage pie
Ingredients
- The filling:
- 550 grams lightly smoked snoek
- 100 grams butter, melted
- 1 lemon, juiced
- 2 tsp minced garlic
- 1/2 onion, finely chopped
- 100 grams brown mushrooms, sliced
- 50 grams fresh peas
- 50 grams corn
- ½ cup cream
- 1 ½ cup milk
- 3 tbsp flour
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- The potato topping:
- 1 kg potatoes, peeled and cut into cubes
- 2-3 tbsp butter
- 1/2 cup cream or milk
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- To serve
- freshly chives, chopped
Instructions
The filling:
HEAT a pan over medium heat. Add 1 tbsp of butter and the snoek and drizzle with lemon juice. Cook until done. Set it aside to cool slightly. Flake the snoek and remove the bones and skin.
ADD the remaining butter into a pot over medium high heat. Add the garlic and onion and cook until soft and translucent. Add the mushrooms, peas and corn and cook for 5 minutes.
WHISK the milk, cream and flour together in a bowl and add to the onion mixture. Stir continually to make sure lumps don’t form. Simmer for 2-3 minutes. Once the sauce is thick, add the flaked snoek and stir to combine. Season. Spoon the mixture into an ovenproof casserole or serving dish.
PREHEAT the oven to grill.
The potato topping:
COOK the potatoes in a pot of salted until tender.
DRAIN the potatoes.
MASH the potatoes. Add the butter and enough cream or milk to make the mash soft but not runny. Continue to mash until smooth. Season to taste
SCOOP the mash onto the filling. You can grill it to get a nice golden and crispy top to your cottage pie
Notes
Food team tip: If the mixture seems too thick, loosen it a bit with more milk.
ALSO SEE: Nthabi Seemela’s one-pot chicken and rice dish
