1KIWI CLASSIC: Kumara and smoked fish gratin

Choose a fatty fish like mackerel for this gratin and make your roux with Vitamin Drich milk for an easy way to up your intake. Serves 4 Dry roasting the kumara is an easy way to make a gratin top and makes sure the kumara has plenty of flavour. 4 large purple kumara, well scrubbed 3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 large onion, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped 1 lemon, zest only

1 bay leaf

75ml dry white wine

2 Tbsp flour

500ml milk

½ cup chopped parsley 2 cups frozen mixed vegetables, thawed 300g smoked fish, skinned and boned,

broken into large flakes

¼ cup breadcrumbs

25g butter 1 Heat the oven to 200C.

2 Put the kumara on a dry ovenproof tray and place in the oven for 1 hour or until completely tender. Test by inserting a skewer into the middle of the biggest kumara. Remove from the oven, cool, halve, scrape out the flesh and place in a bowl. Mash coarsely. Reserve.

3 Heat the oil over moderate heat and add the onion, garlic, zest and bay leaf. Fry gently, without browning, for about 10 minutes until the onion is soft.

4 Add the wine, mix well and let it bubble until completely evaporated. Stir in the flour. Slowly add the milk, and stirring continuously (so there are no lumps), bring to the boil. Simmer 3-4 minutes or until thick.

5 Discard the bay leaf. Gently stir in the vegetables and fish. Taste and season. 6 Pour into a shallow ovenproof dish, making sure everything is evenly distributed. Spread the kumara flesh on top. Sprinkle the breadcrumbs evenly on top. Cut the butter into small pieces and sprinkle evenly over the breadcrumbs. 7 Place in the oven and bake for about 20-30 minutes or until the gratin is well browned and bubbling.