Some years ago Rita Whitelock was asked by the then proprietor of the hotel in Montejaque to cater for the SOL Classic Car Club when members drove up to the village from the coast on a day’s outing in their vintage and classic cars. She was asked to prepare Fish Pie. Never having cooked this dish before, she did some research and came up with her own version, which she tested on friends in the village. They unanimously pronounced that it was delicious, so she went ahead and, with the help of her good friend Jill, cooked lunch for the Car Club. The club members were delighted. Here is Rita’s recipe:
Ingredients
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 kilo of potatoes
• 1 carrot
• 2 celery stalks
• 150 g of cheddar cheese
• 1 lemon
• ½ red chilli
• 4 sprigs of parsley
• 300 g of salmon fillet
• 300 g of other fish
• 125 g of shrimp
• olive oil
• Spinach
• 2 tomatoes cut into quarters
Preparation
Preheat the oven to 200C.
Boil a large saucepan of water.
Cut the potatoes into small pieces and put them in the boiling water. When the water comes back to the boil, cook for 12 minutes. Then mash the potatoes and put to one side.
Coarsely grate the vegetables and cheese into a baking dish.
Finely chop the chilli and parsley and add to the dish.
Cooking method
Cut the fish into small pieces and put in the baking dish with the prawns.
Drizzle the lemon juice and olive oil over the mixture and add salt and pepper to taste.
Then add the spinach and tomatoes.
Mix everything well.
Spread the mashed potatoes on top of the mixture.
Place the baking dish in the pre-heated oven for 40 minutes.
Remove from the oven and let the dish rest. Then serve and enjoy!
Accompaniment
This dish is crying out for a very dry white wine, preferably from a coastal area such as Cádiz or from the Rias Baixas in Galicia.
We chose an albariño (Galicia), but Barbadillo (Cádiz) would do just as well.
¡Buen provecho!
© Rita Whitelock
Tags: albariño. Barbadillo, Cádiz, coast, fish pie, montejaque, rias baixas, rita whitelock, serrania de ronda, SOL Classic Car Club