It's official - I'm a toastie convert. Not content with one round of cheese, ham and pickle, I managed to scoff two rounds of the ultimate snack-food.
I'm sure the indulgence was exacerbated by one bottle of rather delicious Gruner Veltliner (the classic Austrian grape), and then I managed to open a 2001 Rioja. Ah well, it was my birthday and I had complete license to do whatever I wanted. I was sung a song in the morning that declared that!
Tonight though, I am returning to my roots - proper cooking. I have in the fridge 2 possibilities. I bought some free-ranged minced pork and 2 smoked kippers. Now, don't fret, I am not going to advocate the mixing of those two ingredients. I am all for experimental cooking but kippers and pork sounds like an invitation to sing down the ceramic bowl.
I've got 2 ideas: one is to use the remaining pancetta with some thyme and the pork to make meatballs with pasta. The other is to gently poach the kippers in infused milk, flake the flesh off and make some delectable little fishcakes.
For those of you who have never cooked fish like that (and smoked fish works extremely well) here's how I normally go about my piscatorial business:
- Gauge how much milk you need. In this instance for 2 kippers I would use around 500ml. Semi-skimmed is fine.
- Throw in 2 cloves, a bay leaf and 1 finely chopped shallot. An onion will also work, but I'd plump for a shallot first.
- Bring it to a low simmer and turn the heat right down low. Add the fish and poach. For the kippers 5 minutes should suffice. A bigger smoked fillet of cod or haddock will be slightly longer, around 8 to 9 minutes.
- Remove the fish and allow to cool.
- Finger-pick the flesh from the fish bones, try to remove every last bone. Place in a bowl.
- If you wish to use the milk to make a white, fish-infused sauce (with some parsley, or tarragon) then strain it. Make a roux and then slowly add the milk to thicken.
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