Herbed fish crumble

Method

Prep:25min  ›  Cook:40min  ›  Ready in:1hr5min 

1. Preheat the oven to 190°C (375°F, gas mark 5). Put the fish in a single layer in a large saucepan or frying pan and add the leek, milk and bay leaves. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Bring just to the boil, then simmer gently for 5 minutes. Take the pan off the heat and leave to stand for about 5 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, in a bowl rub the butter into the flour with your fingertips to make fine crumbs. Stir in the cheese, marjoram and seasoning to taste.
3. Lift the fish out of the milk with a fish slice and put it onto a plate. Remove the skin and flake the flesh, discarding any bones.
4. Mix the cornflour to a smooth paste with a little water, add to the milk in the pan and bring to the boil, stirring until the sauce has thickened. Discard the bay leaves. Stir in the sliced mushrooms and cook for 1 minute. Gently stir in the flaked fish and chopped parsley and season with salt and pepper to taste.
5. Pour the fish mixture into a 1.2 litre (2 pint) shallow ovenproof dish. Spoon the crumble mixture evenly over the top. Bake for 35–40 minutes or until the top is golden. Serve at once, garnished with marjoram.

Some more ideas

Some children do not like the taste of wholemeal flour, so it's a good trick to mix it with an equal quantity of white flour. * Make up a large batch of crumble topping and store it in a plastic box in the freezer. Then simply take out as much as you need and cook from frozen. * For a Welsh-inspired cod crumble, poach 340 g (12 oz) cod or other firm white fish fillet in the milk with the leeks and bay leaves. Skin and flake the fish. Make the sauce, and stir in a jar of pickled cockles, about 160 g, drained and well rinsed, and 2 tbsp snipped fresh chives with the mushrooms. Top with a crumble made without the herbs and cheese, and flavoured instead with 1 tsp wholegrain mustard rubbed into the mixture with the butter.

Plus points

Milk is an excellent source of several important nutrients – protein, calcium, phosphorus (important for strong bones and teeth) and many of the B vitamins. Because these nutrients are concentrated in the non-fat part of milk, lower-fat milks actually contain more than full-fat milks. * Mushrooms contain useful amounts of the B vitamins B2 and niacin. They are also a good source of copper which is needed for bone growth.

Each serving provides

B1, B6, niacin, selenium * A, B12, calcium, copper * B2, C, folate, iron, potassium, zinc