For the four-course meal I made for our last night on Mull during my recent birthday trip, I chose to take the filling away from the obvious place. Rather, I opted for a relatively light main course of baked crust cod with a "heavy" heritage root vegetable gratin accompaniment.
Accompanied by this delicious starter, this white fish main course was intentionally light with a rather heavier side dish.
Rolled oats, a key ingredient of the (in)famous haggis is all about how it has sustained Scots for millennia. It is precisely now a hipster breakfast because, for centuries, this ingredient soaked up the flavour of meat in dishes created by women (oh yes, actually, really) who needed to feed families that couldn't afford meat.
Dannae think, even in the kitchen, I am unaware of either the role of women in Scottish social history or what this is all truly about.
The portions in this recipe are for two adult diners. Yes, the stuck record: "Scale them up or down as needed."
Shopping list
for the cod
Let's be clear: you want good cod; one large fillet per diner. We got ours at The Tobermory Fish Co.
1 large cod fillet per diner
for the crust
The Scottish traditional ingredient of rolled oats is at the heart of this dish. You need the real deal, not any "pre-prepared", "easy cook"" nonsense. Here, it's not "rush hour" porridge.
2 tbspns extra-virgin olive oil
1 small onion, very finely chopped
A clutch of fresh sorrel; very finely chopped
1 tbspn of wild honey
3 or 4 bay leaves
1 cup rolled oats, lightly crushed (e.g. in a brown paper bag with a rolling pin)
1 tbspn wholewheat flour OR 3 tbspns toasted brown breadcrumbs
Salt and pepper to taste
for the accompaniment
1 small (or ½ a large) purple broccoli
1 small (or ½ a large) Romanesco
The béchamel — see below, including its specific ingredients
Smoked pancetta, approx. 100g
1 red onion, diced
for the "tattie cartwheels"
4 to five young potatoes per diner, in their skins, scrubbed and sliced
A smidgen of dried thyme
Cooking Method
the "oatie" crust
Heat the olive oil in a large, flat pan; add the onion and chopped sorrel, stirring regularly
Add the crushed rolled oats and wheatflour OR breacrumbs. The oil will be absorbed rapidly
Add the wild honey, salt and pepper
Turn off the heat and continue to stir. You should end up with a golden, rather dry mixture of ingredients
the béchamel
For this dish, use the same béchamel recipe used in this particular case
I used a local small-batch hard, smoked cheese produced on Mull. Otherwise I'd recommend Coolea or Doolin
the gratin
Steam, for approx. 12mins or microwave (for 6 min on a medium power), the purple broccoli and Romanesco in a microwave steamer or for a little longer if using a more traditional stove-top steamer
In a small pan, add a little olive oil and sweat the diced red onion; add the smoked pancetta and cook until all of the fat has drained out of it. Allow to cool.
Place the steamed root vegetables into an oven-proof dish, spooning the smoked pancetta and cooked onions into the spaces between them
Gently poor in the béchamel and top with the grated hard cheese of choice
Place in the middle of a pre-heated oven and cook on a medium heat from about 30 mins or under golden brown
the tattie "cartwheels"
Scrub (with a clean brush with firm bristles) your skins-on young potatoes. Then slice them, fairly finely, before turning the slice over in the dried thyme sprinkled into a saucer or small plate. You want a fine scattering of the thyme to adhere to both surfaces of each slice
On a high temperature, heat an appropriate oil (sunflower, olive or peanut) or butter, and then throw the slices of tatties into the pan, turning occasionally until cooked golden brown on both sides
the fish
Place the individual cod fillets on a very lightly greased oven-proof paper or tin foil, to be baked on an oven shelf or in a baking dish that allows drainage. Gently baste (with clean fingers or brush) the top surface of the fillets
Sprinkle and press the "oatie" crust mixture onto the fish. It should be fairly loose and does not use any egg "glue". Bake until the crust is golden brown in the centre of the oven at a pre-heated medium-to-high temperature
Plate the fish and let diners serve themselves the oven-baked gratin of root vegetables at the table
Pairings
Long-term; another Karel job obviously. On this occasion, I matched it with a breezy little white Rioja, which worked splendidly.
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