Kat's Purrrfect Fish Bake

I like to wander around my office at lunch time as people tend to offer me samplings of their lunches (I have even come back to my desk to find sandwich halves on my keyboard, true story). I always partake in these offerings because a) I'm mostly always hungry, and b) well, pretty much because I'm always mostly hungry! But the day my friend/work colleague/ fellow blogger Kat offered me a morsel of her fish bake, that's when I hit the jackpot. This dish tasted so delicious that I'm pretty sure for a moment my eyes rolled into the back of my head. I begged her to email me the recipe, not only so that I could share it with you, but mostly because I wanted to be able to make it for myself ASAP! Not only did she deliver on emailing me the recipe, but she also provided pictures, which pretty much brings her up to best friend status in my book. In her own words:"The bake has a layer of onions and fennel, then topped with a lovely layer of flaky fish, crunchy potatoes and breadcrumbs with a little cheese and cream. It is the epitome of winter warmth in your mouth".

 
Here's what you'll need (serves 4, or just 1 if you plan on spending a night in, eating in front of the TV):

• 400g potatoes, scrubbed and finely sliced
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 clove of garlic peeled and chopped
• 1 onion, peeled and sliced
• 1 bulb of fennel, trimmed and sliced (Kat uses leek as a substitute)
• 1 teaspoon of fennel seeds
• 4 medium or 8 small fillets of trout, pin boned (Kat has never actually cooked it with trout, She uses 2 fillets of salmon - skin on)
• 285mL single cream
• 2 handfuls of freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus extra for sprinkling
• 2 anchovy fillets
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 handfuls of fresh breadcrumbs (sourdough bread is perfect for this)
• 2 lemons halved

Method

1. Preheat oven to 200°C.

2. Parboil the sliced potatoes in salted boiling water for a few minutes until softened and then drain in a colander.

3. Place a 20cm casserole type pan on low heat, and add oil, garlic, onion, fennel (or leek) and fennel seeds.

4. Cook slowly for 10 minutes with lid on, stirring every so often

5. Take pan off the heat. Lay trout (or salmon) fillets skin-side up over the onion and fennel.

6. Mix together your cream, parmesan and anchovies, season with salt and freshly ground pepper and pour over fish.

7. Toss the potato slices in a little olive oil, salt and pepper and layer these over the top of the fish.

8. Place in the oven for 20 minutes, sprinkling with the breadcrumbs and a little grated Parmesan 5 minutes before the end.

9. Serve with lemon halves.