Fish with cheese sauce and fennel pollen

Jet lag renders me useless. Cooking no longer has that creative spark for me, it's just a necessary chore. Yet, when I start, I always find I am thinking "what can make this better, what would taste good with this"? and I end up expending just as much energy as if I was hellbent on creating a 10 course meal. What started as a simple fish pie ended up as a lesson in how to thicken a Bechamel sauce and getting out the fennel pollen, an ingredient I haven't tried before.

The freezer had some left over pieces of cod and halibut lurking around and some raw prawns, always a welcome sight.

What began as a light, low carb cream sauce ended up with flour in it, as there was no other way I could thicken the bleedin' thing, no matter how long I simmered it, rapidly boiled it or used more cream. Unless I wanted an insipid soup of a dish, I was going to have to use flour of some kind.

Fennel pollen. $8 for a small pot which will apparently transform any pasta or fish dish into something memorable. It's advertised as being a secret ingredient in Italian cooking. It gives a sort of aniseed like touch with a hint of floral herby-ness. Nice, but yet to amaze me. 

Recipe : Fish with cheese sauce

1/2 cup raw mixed white fish (such as cod, halibut, sole)

6 large raw prawns

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter

1/2 tbsp all purpose flour

1/4 cup milk

2 tbsp whipping cream

1 bay leaf

1/2 tsp mustard

1/4 tsp paprika

salt and freshly ground black pepper

a pinch of fennel pollen (optional)

A handful of greens such as kale or spinach, shredded

1/2 cup grated strong cheese

2 eggs, hard boiled, peeled and halved

First, make the cheese sauce. 

Melt the butter over gentle heat in a heavy pan. When completely melted, add the flour.

Stir well until the mixture is smooth and cook for a few moments, still over low heat, to cook the flour and reduce the raw taste.

Add the milk slowly, stirring the whole time until the mixture thickens. Add the bay leaf, mustard, paprika, salt and pepper to taste and the fennel pollen and stir well. 

Add the cream and continue to stir. If you think the mixture is a little thick, add a little more milk. 

Remove from the heat and stir in the cheese. Stir well until the cheese has fully melted and the sauce is smooth and glossy. 

Add the greens and continue to cook very gently until they have wilted.

To assemble:

Lay the fish and prawns in a baking dish, top with the halved eggs and then pour the cheese sauce over everything. 

Bake in the oven at 350oF for about 25 - 30 minutes or pop under the grill (broiler) and grill until the cheese sauce is bubbling and the fish well cooked.