Crazy-day haddock bake

HARRIED: ‘Feeling strained as a result of having demands persistently made on one.’ And that folks in a word is what I’ve been lately – harried. Which explains why there was no recipe last week. What there was, was total chaos at Chez Melkkos & Merlot. Because why? Because roof.

A week ago I had a roof and now, R100 000,00 later, I have er… well a roof. Except hopefully this one won’t leak. Talk about grudge purchase. Thankfully my bank manager is an understanding sort of chap.

My cat did the sensible thing and disappeared across the road to the neighbours for five days. I couldn’t, so I did the only other remotely sensible thing, and opened a bottle of wine. Now anyone who’s ever renovated will tell you that COOKING in the midst of all that chaos is the very last thing one wants to do. But a girl’s gotta eat, so fast food it was, Melkkos & Merlot style.

I grabbed some smoked haddock fillets from the freezer, banged them in an ovenproof dish while still frozen, poured over a few magical can’t-fail things and in the oven it went – all of five minutes’ hands-on work. Thirty minutes later, out came a bubbling, creamy, cheesy-delicious haddock bake. I served the haddock in deep bowls on a nest of grilled asparagus along with plenty of that garlicky cheesy sauce. A torn chunk of baguette for some serious dipping and my world was right side up once more.

All you need is…

800g haddock (hake is lovely too)
1 large clove garlic, crushed
pinch of salt
½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 cup (250ml) fresh cream
½ cup freshly grated parmesan or pecorino
large bunch of asparagus
olive oil
lemon

Place the fish in a shallow ovenproof dish. Stir the salt, pepper, cheese and garlic into the cream and pour over the fish. Bake at 180 degrees Celsius until cooked through – 30-35 minutes. Once the fish is done, remove from the oven and cover with foil to keep warm. Give the asparagus a light drizzle of olive oil and grill on a hot griddle. Give it a squeeze of lemon right at the end. Serve immediately with the fish and loads of that lovely sauce.