Seafood gratin with caramelised apple

This dish comes from a restaurant in Dieppe called Le Newhaven. I wonder if there are any restaurants called Le Dieppe in Newhaven! I thought the accompanying sautéed apple might be a bit too ‘Normande’ for foreign consumption but it was actually really nice.

SERVES 6

450ml fish stock (see the book for homemade)

400g white fish fillets, skinned and cut into 2cm pieces

200g cleaned scallops

400g raw prawns, peeled

50ml white wine

150ml whole milk

100ml double cream

50g butter

2 leeks, cut in half lengthways, washed and sliced

50g plain flour

salt and black pepper

small handful flat-leaf parsley, chopped

80g emmental cheese, grated

50g panko breadcrumbs

CARAMELISED APPLES

3 or 4 dessert apples

3 tbsp unsalted butter

2 tbsp golden caster sugar

• Bring the stock to a simmer in a pan, then add the fish fillets and poach for one minute. Add the scallops and poach for another minute, then the prawns for a final minute. Remove them all with a slotted spoon and set aside. Add the wine, milk and cream to the stock and bring to the boil.
• Melt the 50g of butter in another large pan, add the leeks and cook for about 5 minutes until soft. Add the flour and stir well, then add the milk and stock mixture, a ladleful at a time. Keep stirring until all the liquid is incorporated and the sauce is smooth with no lumps. Bring the sauce to the boil, turn down the heat and leave to simmer for about 15 minutes. Preheat the grill.
• Grease 6 shallow ovenproof gratin dishes or one large dish measuring about 30cm x 25cm. Add the poached fish, scallops and prawns to the pan and season with salt and pepper. Stir in the parsley, then transfer the mixture to the gratin dishes or dish. Mix the cheese with the breadcrumbs and sprinkle over the top. Grill for 10 minutes until golden brown.
• If you’ve made the gratin in advance and let it cool down, preheat the oven to 200C/180C fan and bake for 15-20 minutes until the top is brown and the filling is bubbling.
• While the gratin is cooking, peel and core the apples and cut them into 2cm chunks. Melt the butter in a nonstick frying pan, then add the caster sugar and stir until the sugar has dissolved.
• Add the apple chunks and stir to coat them in the butter, then cook for about 10 minutes until the apples have softened and are covered in a caramel sauce. Serve the gratin with the caramelised apples on the side and some good bread.

TIP You can also use cooked or frozen seafood, such as prawns, scallops and lobster, if you like. Just add them to the pan with the poached white fish.