The easiest alternative to this recipe is the Findus frozen dinner that we used to eat during our lovely long summers in our little house in Skäret. Remember how you both tried to be the first one getting to the food, so that you could take all the delicious crusty topping off the fish and potatoes? Well, now you can make your own from scratch. This is a good dish to prepare after Thanksgiving, when you have leftover mashed potatoes.
Fish Gratin with Spinach and Mashed Potatoes
Servings 4
Ingredients
- 1 pound fresh or frozen white fish filets snapper is very good
- 4 – 5 dl water
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 fish bouillon cube
- 1 pound frozen spinach
- 4 portions of mashed potatoes
Gratin Sauce
- 2 tablespoons margarine or butter
- 3 tablespoons flour
- 4 dl fish stock
- 1 egg or 1 egg yolk
- ½ dl cream
- 2 dl shredded aged cheese
Instructions
- Preheat oven at 450F.
- Rinse quickly the fresh fish filets or cut the frozen, somewhat thawed, pieces in 1 inch slices.
- Boil Boil the water together with the salt and fish cube.
- Put in the fish. Cook covered, on low heat, 2 – 6 minutes. Let the fish stay in the stock while you fix the spinach and sauce.
- Defrost the spinach in a pot on low heat. Allow most of the liquid to cook away.
Gratin Sauce Directions
- Gratin Sauce
- Melt the butter, mix in the butter, and whisk in the fish stock. Boil, while stirring, for a couple of minutes.
- Beat the egg (or egg yolk) and mix with the cream. Pour this in the sauce, whisking constantly. You must not let the sauce boil after this point.
- Mix in half of the shredded cheese.
- Place the fish in the middle of an oven safe dish (lengthwise). Put the spinach on both sides of the fish.
- Pour on the gratin sauce, except for one deciliter.
- Cover the entire dish with the mashed potatoes, pour the last of the sauce on top, and sprinkle the rest of the cheese.
- Gratin on the upper rack of the oven for 10 – 15 minutes.
Photo by humbert15 