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15 Jan 2021
Mrs Kirkham’s Potato & Leek cake with Smoked Haddock and Poached Egg Hollandaise.
Head Chef at The Barn at Moor Hall, Nathan Cornwell, shares a delicious winter warmer of a dish that is perfect for making at home. Serves 2.
Ingredients
For the Potato cake
- 400g peeled Maris Piper potatoes
- Half a leek, washed and sliced
- 25g grated Mrs Kirkham’s cheddar (or any mature cheddar you have)
- 10g melted butter
- Salt
- 25ml sunflower oil
- Flour to dust
For the Haddock
- 2 portions of undyed smoked haddock around 125g each
- 250ml whole milk
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 sprig of thyme
For the Hollandaise
- 125ml of melted unsalted butter
- 2 egg yolks
- Half a teaspoon of tarragon vinegar (or white wine vinegar can be used)
- Half a lemon
For the Poached egg
- 2 large free-range eggs
- 20ml white wine vinegar
For the Kale
- 2 handfuls of washed kale
Method
- Cut the potatoes into quarters and place in a suitable pan. Cover with cold water, season with salt and simmer until cooked. Drain well, then mash. Whilst cooking, slice the leeks into 1cm rounds, wash well, then sweat in the butter
- Add the leeks and grated cheese to the mashed potato and mix well, tasting to check seasoning
- Next, take a large circular pastry cutter and push half of the mix through to make one round. Repeat. Lightly dust with flour then fry in the sunflower oil until golden brown on both sides
- For the haddock, place all the ingredients into the pan and bring to the simmer slowly, then turn it down to just below a simmer and cook for five minutes. To check it is cooked, the skin should be able to be removed without any resistance. Once cooked remove the skin
- Next, to make the sauce, place your two egg yolks into a round bottomed bowl, add a little salt and the vinegar, and place over a bain-marie/water bath and whisk until the yolks are thick and pale. Skim off the white solids from the butter, then slowly add to the yolks whilst whisking, until a thick and coating consistency. Add a few drops of lemon juice, taste to check seasoning. Cover and keep warm until serving
- Now to poach the eggs, take a suitable pan and fill two thirds with water and bring to the boil. Add the vinegar, stir with a spoon to get a whirling motion, crack the eggs in and lightly cook for two minutes. Check the eggs are cooked – they should just be set and yolk still soft. Remove from the pan with a slotted spoon and drain well, season with a little rock salt and black pepper
- For the kale, just lightly blanch in salted water for a couple of minutes, until just tender
- To serve, place the hot potato on to the plate, on top of that place the haddock, then the kale and poached egg. Spoon on top the hollandaise and enjoy!