Even though many Irish people have for years had something of an ambivalent relationship with fish -- probably due to the old religious obligation to eat it once a week most of the year, and a lot more often than that in Lent -- it's surprising to see how much smoked fish there is in the supermarkets these days. It's always readily available in packaged form, and normally fresh from the deli counter as well. Smoked salmon and mackerel, smoked coley and trout, and especially smoked cod, turn up constantly on restaurant menus and at the ubiquitous local fish-and-chips place.

This recipe would still be found on many country tables as a supper dish. In the old days before refrigerated transport was common, most people would have made it regularly using salt cod, which was dried out during its manufacture and would keep nearly forever. But now local fish are smoked for flavor, not the smoke's keeping properties... which makes for a much more tender and appetizing product. And it's easy to run down to the local grocer's (or go online and arrange for a delivery from one of the big Irish supermarket chains like Tesco or Superquinn) and a little later make a dish like this with cod that was swimming in the clean cold waters off Wexford a few days ago, and since then has been in somebody's smoker, imbibing the aromas of beechwood or oak or (if you're lucky) turf, and turning a wonderful delicate shade of gold.

Click on "read more" for the recipe and method.    

Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 cups / 1 pint bechamel sauce or other cream sauce
• 1 glass white wine
• 2 tablespoons cream
• 350 grams / 3/4 pound smoked cod (but smoked haddock or finnan haddie will work as well), cooked, boned and skinned, and flaked into chunks. Any other firm-fleshed smoked fish can be substituted.
• 175 grams / 6 ounces prawn or shrimp tails, cooked
• 100 grams / 4 ounces button mushrooms, cooked (sautéeing them in butter works well)
• 1 tablespoons chopped chives
• 1 tablespoon chopped parsley
• Package of ready-made puff pastry (or, if you prefer, 2-3 cups of mashed potato to cover)
• Milk or egg to glaze the pastry, if you're using pastry
• Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 220° C / 425° F.

Pour the bechamel sauce or white sauce into a bowl. Add the wine and cream, then mix in all the other ingredients except the salt and pepper and puff pastry, blending gently until well mixed together.

Season the mixture to taste and pour into a buttered pie dish or ovenproof casserole. If you're using the puff pastry, roll it out, cover the pie container with it, and trim to size: then glaze the puff pastry with milk or beaten egg and cut several slits so that the steam can escape. If you're using mashed potato, spread it over the surface of the pie, rough up the top of the mashed potato with a fork, and sprinkle it with lightly with pepper, and (if you like) a little leftover chopped parsley.

Bake the pie for 20-25 minutes, checking it after minute 15 to make sure it's not browning too much. The puff pastry will need perhaps five minutes longer than the mashed potato will.