The lighter and (somewhat) warmer nights have moved me into summertime eating.  Gone are the heavier soups, casseroles and curries and in have come the fish and salads.  Making home made white sauce takes a bit of getting used to but once you’ve mastered it the options are endless!

Serves 2

Ingredients:

  • 2 fillets of firm white fish (cod or hake are good choices)
  • 1 lemon
  • Salt, pepper and a touch of paprika
  • Bunch of asparagus tips, woody ends removed, steamed
  • Olive oil/butter

 For the white sauce:

  • 2 tablespoons of corn flour
  • Milk
  • A knob of butter
  • Splash of white wine
  • Pinch of thyme or dill (fresh or dried)
  • Pepper
  • ½ stock cube (optional)
  • Squeeze of lemon
  • 1 small packet of prosciutto, lightly fried

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees.

1. Place each fillet on a piece of foil, season with the salt, pepper and paprika, squeeze over the lemon juice and drizzle over some olive oil/butter.

2. Wrap the foil over the fish to make individual parcels.

3. Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes (you want the fish to be flaky, so keep an eye on it as it’s so easy to overcook – dry fish is not what we are trying to achieve!)

For the white sauce

1. Whilst the fish is cooking, mix together the flour and enough milk to make a thin paste.

2. Melt a knob of butter in a small pan and add the mixture to it, stirring/whisking continuously.

3. As the mixture thickens, continue to add more milk until you reach the desired consistency of the sauce.  If the sauce gets too thick or clumpy, simply add more milk and whisk vigorously!

4. Add the wine, lemon, herbs, prosciutto and stock cube if using.  The taste you should be achieving is a sharp tangy one, as this goes really well with white fish.

 Once done, place the fish on top of the asparagus and spoon over the white sauce.