To prepare white sauce:
Heat 100g butter in a medium-sized pot. Add 5 tbsp plain flour and stir over heat for a minute or two. Season with 1 tbsp salt, several shakes of white pepper and 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg. Gradually add 4 cups hot milk, a cup at a time, stirring until sauce is thick, smooth and bubbling. Simmer for 5 minutes stirring so the sauce does not catch. Remove from heat and serve or use in recipe as directed. Mix lemon juice into sauce - it should be quite runny and very lemony in flavour.
To prepare pie:
Preheat oven to 200°C. Wash and thinly slice leek. Place in a small pot with a splash of water and the butter. Cover and cook over gentle heat for 5 minutes or until softened. Drain and discard any liquid then spread out in the bottom of a large shallow baking dish (about 40 x 30cm).
Place chopped kumara in a microwave bowl with 1 tbsp water, cover and microwave for 5-6 minutes (or boil for 5 minutes then drain). Arrange on top of leeks and flake smoked fish over the top. Sprinkle with capers if using. Pour over the White Sauce.
To prepare the topping, blitz together bread, butter or oil, Essential Cuisine Basil Pesto and salt and pepper in a food processor until it forms a rough crumb mixture. Sprinkle crumb over pie evenly.
Bake for 30-35 minutes or until sauce bubbles around edges and crumbs are golden. (If preparing for reheating later, assemble pie ready to bake and chill. It will take about 40 minutes to cook from the fridge). |