Recipe Notes | Smoked Haddock & Leek Pasta Bake

We love recipes that are easy, delicious and not too heavy. As the cooler months draw closer, we wanted to create a baked pasta dish using fish rather red meat, and one that wasn’t too heavy going. The end result is this wonderful smoked haddock and leek pasta bake, it is so good and a great choice for cosy evenings indoors when you haven’t got much time to throw together dinner. Oh, and also this is gluten and dairy free – winner.

Ingredients

• 2 leeks, washed and chopped
• 2 smoked haddock fillets, dyed or un-dyed
• 200g of penne pasta, we use the gluten free brown rice penne from Waitrose
• 250ml of vegan cream, we use Oatly cream as it doesn’t split
• A handful of breadcrumbs or sourdough is best but anything will do
• A handful of fresh parsley, chopped
• Sea salt / kosher salt and pepper
• Glug or two of olive oil
• Fresh nutmeg if you have it (this is optional really)
• A squeeze of lemon (again, if you have it as not essential)
• Grated vegan cheese (optional)

Method

1. First, fill a pan with boiling water and add some salt. Add the pasta and cook to the instructions on side of the packet.

2. Take the breadcrumbs and put in a small bowl.

3. While the pasta is cooking, add a glug of olive oil to a shallow casserole dish (we use the Staub chisteria braiser as it’s the perfect size for this recipe and can go in the oven). Add the leeks and fry gently in the oil. Keep stirring until they have browned slightly. Remove half of the leeks and mix in with the breadcrumbs.

4. Add the oatly cream to the casserole dish with the leeks and stir in, bring up to a rolling simmer (do not boil!) and add the fish. If the fish has skin, which it likely will, place the fish so the skin is on the upside. Turn the heat right down to the lowest setting, and add a good grating of fresh nutmeg, salt and pepper. Then add the lid and leave for 3-4 minutes. The fish should be tender and flaky but if not give it another minute. Remove the fish to a plate and peel off the skin.

5. Add the fish back to the dish with the creamy leeks and it will flake up as you stir it in. Add the pasta once it’s cooked to the creamy fish and leeks and stir in. If you feel there is not enough liquid, add a little oat milk or similar – not too much as you don’t want it to be watery.

6. Next, add a little bit of grated vegan cheese if you want to, a squeeze of lemon and a little of the parsley, season with salt and pepper and stir.

7. Sprinkle the breadcrumbs and leek mixture on top, add vegan cheese or regular cheese if you want to.

8. Grill under a regular grill to brown the topping and melt the cheese, add the last bit of fresh parsley then serve.

Images: HM