Fish Mornay

This fish mornay is a comforting family meal that is really simple to make and is totally budget friendly.

The recipe uses frozen white fish such as pollack, which is generally cheaper to buy. And, the cheese sauce is made from scratch with basic ingredients too.

The sauce is made in minutes, with an easy method which guarantees it to be lump free too!

Serve with peas and mashed potato for a delicious and filling meal that won't break the bank.

Enjoy!

Jump to:

• ❤️ Why you will love this recipe
• 🥘 Ingredients
• 🍽 Equipment
• 🔪 Instructions
• ⏲️ Baking Time
• 🥗 Side Dishes
• 🥙 Substitutions
• 📖 Variations
• 🍣 Storage
• 🍱 Prepare in Advance
• 🤔 FAQs
• 📋 Recipe
• 💬 Comments

A classic mornay sauce is simply a white sauce or  béchamel  that is flavoured with cheese.

The basic white sauce is an essential component of recipes such as seafood lasagne and it's also popular in other sauces, such as onion sauce for lamb and with leeks in white sauce and bacon.

The cheesy mornay sauce that is delicious in broccoli and cauliflower cheese, whole roasted cauliflower and easy vegetable bakes.

However, many people feel intimidated by making a sauce at home and end up buying a packet or jar when it just takes a few minutes and just 3 ingredients.

Trust me, when you have made this sauce a few times you won't even need to measure it!

This recipe makes a generous sauce portion for the fish so you can add extra veggies or use it to dip other vegetables in too.

For the fish I've used frozen white fish portions, which is typically pollack, coley or hake. Compared to buying fresh cod, for example, it is only a third of the price. When it's cut up and covered in the sauce, no one will know the difference!

❤️ Why you will love this recipe

• All ingredients are budget friendly.
• Easy and quick white sauce with no drama!
• Simple preparation.
• Family friendly flavours.
• Great for weeknights.

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🥘 Ingredients

• Fish - frozen and defrosted, skinless and boneless white fish fillets.
• Milk - semi skimmed milk or milk made up from powder.
• Flour - plain or all purpose flour.
• Butter - unsalted or salted butter.
• Salt - cooking or kosher salt. Leave out the salt if you are using salted batter and season to taste.
• Pepper - freshly ground black pepper or use white pepper if you prefer.
• Cheese - medium or mature cheddar.

The recipe card with ingredient quantities and detailed instructions can be found at the bottom of the post.

🍽 Equipment

• 4 gratin dishes or 1 larger oven proof dish.
• saucepan
• balloon whisk
• sharp knife
• chopping board
• kitchen paper
• oven tray to hold the dishes - optional to avoid spillages.
• cheese grater

🔪 Instructions

Pat the fish dry after defrosting with kitchen paper and cut into bite sized pieces.

💭 Top Tip

• It's really important to dry the fish thoroughly before and after it has been cut, as it is normally frozen with water. Otherwise the water is released when it's cooked and this will thin the sauce.
• Defrost the fish overnight in the refrigerator.

Divide the fish between the dishes.

💭 Top Tip

• Place the individual dishes on an oven tray to move the dishes in and out of the oven. This saves spillages and burnt fingers as I find it difficult to take small dishes out of the oven.

Put the flour butter and milk in a saucepan over a medium heat.

Whisk the mixture constantly to break up the flour and whisk it together with the butter as it melts.

As it comes to a simmer it will thicken.

Turn the heat down and cook for a minute while whisking.

The sauce should be glossy and thick.

Turn off the heat.

Grate the cheese and add 110g (4 oz), to the sauce.

Whisk the cheese in to melt and season the sauce to taste.

💭 Top Tip

• Depending on the maturity of the cheese, Cheddar can be quite salty, so taste the mornay sauce before seasoning.

Divide the sauce evenly between the dishes.

⏲️ Baking Time

Preheat the oven to 180 C / 350 F / 160 FAN / Gas 4 and cook for 20 minutes.

Add the remaining cheese and place under a hot grill or broiler for a minute or until golden brown and bubbling.

Remove from the grill and leave for a few minutes before serving.

The sauce will be extremely hot.

The fish mornay is now ready to serve.

🥗 Side Dishes

Serve with peas and mash for an easy and filling meal or try some of these side dishes.

• Cavolo Nero Kale
• Honey Roasted Carrots and Parsnips
• Easy Roast Potatoes
• Honey Roasted Swede
• Roast Savoy Cabbage
• Roasted Green Beans and Carrots
• Minted Mushy Peas
• Roasted Long Stem Broccoli

🥙 Substitutions

• Cheddar - use any cheese that melts easily for the fish mornay, such as mozzarella, edam, double gloucester or brie.
• Butter - use margarine, but not any low fat spread. Low fat spreads have a high quantity of water and won't mix well to make a sauce.

📖 Variations

• Sauce - add a teaspoon of mustard powder to the sauce or a few grates of nutmeg.
• Herbs - add a couple of tablespoons of chopped fresh parsley or dill.
• Fish - use cod, haddock, salmon
• Seafood medley - use a frozen pack of seafood cocktail or fish pie mix. Alternatively, for a luxurious fish mornay use prawns, scallops or monkfish.
• Vegetarian - replace the fish with mushrooms, leeks, peas, broad beans and other quick cooking vegetables.
• Vegetable - add leftover cooked vegetables to the fish or add other quick cooking vegetables as above.

🍣 Storage

• Refrigerator - cool, cover and use within 2 days.
• Freezer - can be frozen for up to a month in an airtight container. The sauce may separate and will need to be stirred to combine. Defrost overnight in the refrigerator.
• To reheat - cover with foil and heat in the oven at 180 C / 350 F / 160 FAN / Gas 4 until fully heated through.

🍱 Prepare in Advance

• Make the sauce in advance and cool and leave in the fridge until required. It will take a few more minutes in the oven with the fish.

🤔 FAQs

More budget friendly recipes

See the budget friendly page for more inspiration.

• Sausage Hotpot
• Slow Cooker Sausage Casserole
• Corned Beef Fritters
• Savoury Mince
• Beef Olives
• Macaroni Pudding
• Microwave Sponge Pudding
• Creamed Rice Pudding

📋 Recipe

More seafood recipes

Food Safety

• Do not use the same utensils on cooked food, that previously touched raw meat.
• Wash hands after touching raw meat.
• Don't leave food sitting out at room temperature for extended periods.
• Never leave cooking food unattended.
• Use oils with high smoking point to avoid harmful compounds.
• Always have good ventilation when using gas.

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