Caitríona Redmond: A comforting smoked fish recipe with parsley sauce and mash

Irish seafood is among the best in the world

Yesterday I watched a short video on TikTok in which a woman announced that her children wanted a grilled cheese sandwich for lunch. So she set out about making the bread from scratch in her achingly perfect kitchen, with not a crumb in sight. She kneaded and left the dough to rise. Then she made her own mozzarella and churned her own butter, all in the one morning. Apparently, this woman cooks all her children’s food from scratch.

Take it from me, and I do cook a lot, the video was a piece of performance art.

The marble worktops shone as if they’d never been littered with smears of sauce, grimy hands, or scraps of food. Her dark dress was immaculate the whole way through with no splashes or flour marks; she didn’t wear an apron either.

I had to dive a little deeper because I just didn’t understand how or why this was a good idea. Even if she started making the bread first thing in the morning, by the time it was cooled the kids must have been terribly hungry. That person dedicated a significant amount of time to making a lunch from core ingredients to what looked like a delectable sandwich. From my perspective, time is the most expensive resource to allocate to jobs in my home.

It’s all part of the ‘tradwife’ subculture on social media where women enact a homemaker persona for attention. The tradwife subculture is about more than that though. It’s about someone who advocates for a traditional homemaker role, someone who doesn’t work outside of the home, and who dedicates their life to their spouse and children.

It’s so glossy it’s unbelieveable. Why? Because it’s simply not reality. It turns out she is a model with significant enough of a following to make tens of thousands of euro every time she shares a recipe video like this. Who watches the kids while she films? Her husband of course.

If you watched my recipe videos you could be forgiven for thinking I’m also part of the ‘tradwife’ trend. I cook with my apron on but trust me, there are always flaws in what I do, from crumbs and bits falling around to my apron having creases, and even a chip out of my countertop.

Cooking and providing for a family isn’t about perfection. Fed is best, and sometimes that can mean a frozen pizza lashed into the oven, or even a pot of yoghurt eaten standing up at the counter. I have no doubt that if I had somebody here to clean up after me, mind the kids, and had oodles of time I could give off the impression that I curated an immaculate life. That’s an awful lot of mental loads being shouldered by a significant other or hired help.

The best meal I ever had was a plate of white sliced pan — buttered and toasted — with a cup of tea. Perfection is overrated.

Irish seafood is the best in the world

Every Friday my extended family gathers together to enjoy fish. Seriously. We call it ‘fresh fish Friday’ and have been doing it for years. We don’t make a fuss about how it’s cooked because the fish is basically panfried and served up with whatever vegetables are seasonal and a side of homemade chips.

Our kids are the fourth generation of our family to take their turn at making the trip to the harbour once a week to see what has been caught and follow the fish from the boat to the plate.

Irish seafood is among the best in the world and our fishermen put themselves at great risk to guarantee that beautiful fish and shellfish grace our tables. If you’re looking to eat more seafood but don’t have easy access to a fishmonger or harbour I can recommend Gannet Fishmongers website — eatmorefish.ie — for delivery across the island of Ireland.

Smoked fish with parsley sauce and mash

recipe by:Caitriona Redmond

This is the pure definition of a hug on a plate. Soft and yielding smoked fish poached in milk with a side of mash and parsley sauce. Keep it on budget by using a fish mix or fish pieces.

Servings

4

Preparation Time

 15 mins

Cooking Time

 40 mins

Total Time

 55 mins

Course

 Main

Ingredients

• For the Fish

• 1-2 smoked haddock fillets (depending on the size)

• 1 small onion, peeled and cut in half

• 2 bay leaves

• 1 tsp whole peppercorns

• 300ml whole milk

• For the sauce

• 50g butter

• 50g plain flour

• 150ml milk (you will use some of the poaching milk from the fish also)

• Salt and pepper to taste

• Large handful of fresh parsley, chopped

Method

1. Cut the haddock into portion-sized pieces and place into a cold saucepan along with onion, bay leaves, peppercorns, and whole milk.

2. Place on a low/medium heat on the hob and bring to a very low simmer (do not allow this to boil).

3. Simmer for 15 minutes. Turn off the heat and leave the fish to soak in the hot milk while you make the sauce.

4. If you find that smoked haddock is too strong for you, soak the haddock in cold water for 1 hour before cooking. Discard the water after 1 hour and follow the instructions above.

5. For the sauce: Cook the butter and flour together on a medium heat until browned. Slowly add the 150 ml of milk to thicken the mixture.

6. Spoon in some more milk from the poaching liquid, stirring all the time, until you get the consistency you like.

7. Season to taste. Add lashings of chopped parsley to the sauce and turn off the heat.

8. Serve the cooked fish on a pile of mashed potatoes with plenty of parsley sauce to pour over the top.