Before today, I’d never had fish pie. I’ve heard about it, I even overheard a conversation on a train once between a woman who was going home to make one and invited complete strangers to come and dine with her. I think it’s a very British thing. And, to be perfectly frank, when Nicktor said he was making one for our lunch today, I was a bit scared.
I couldn’t imagine a pie crust filled with bits of any old fish, a scoop of white sauce and topped with a pastry lid. In my head, fish and pastry isn’t an ideal coupling. And, of course, I was completely wrong.
A fish pie doesn’t have pastry around it. It’s similar to shepherd’s pie but with fish rather than sheep.
Anyway, it was delicious and something I’d be happy to have again.
The same goes for the scallops we had for entrée. Okay, Nicktor was concerned with the size. He’d tried to get king scallops but even the fishmonger at Midhurst didn’t have any. The ones he served were fine.
I was thinking they’d be the little Patagonian ones they sometimes have at Waitrose but, no, they were lovely, plump and juicy. They worked very well with the pancetta and ciabatta crumble he served them on top of. And, as I said, it’s not the size of the scallop, it’s what you do with it that counts.
But, the savoury definitely took a back seat to his award winning dessert. Not that it received any awards. But it should have! It was amazing.
It’s difficult to see the filling from this photo as it’s between the two biscuits and behind the strawberry pillars. Suffice it to say, it was delicious. And Nicktor made it all.
Of course, the day wasn’t just about the food (and wine and whisky), it was also about seeing their new house. I didn’t take any photos inside but I did sneak this one during our, after eating walk.
To be completely honest, that’s Stedham Hall. They live down the road a bit more and their house is a little smaller. Actually, the hall, built around 1520, and on the bank of the Rother River, has now been divided up into flats. The Cansfields looked at the one on the right hand end of this photo, but they didn’t like the spiral staircase. I reckon their house is much nicer. And it doesn’t have a spiral staircase.
During our post lunch walk, we were shown the old mill (now a well appointed house), the hump back bridge and a rather lovely sluice gate.
An automatic sluice gate has been installed but, being the kind of chap I am, I rather like the old hand operated original.
Of course, dinner and the house weren’t the only reasons we were there. We also wanted to meet the newest Cansfield: Hector.
Hector is a rather boisterous, nine month old terrier with a very pretty face. Both the Cansfields didn’t want another dog yet. Actually, Nicktor suggested they wait about 30 years. In fact, when Dawn brought him home, he wasn’t happy – Nicktor not Hector. Now they are inseparable. And you can see why. He really is adorable – Hector not Nicktor.
Being boisterous and young, Hector also drew blood, his claws scratching Mirinda and causing first aid mayhem.
This wasn’t the only accident. While walking around a field and having spoken about a guy we’d passed who can hardly walk and uses two sticks, I fell over. A little later, on the hump back bridge, the woman and the man with the sticks, stopped to make sure I was okay, having witnessed my tumble. Nicktor waved their concern away saying he’d had a decade of just such entertainment. It never ceased to cheer him up, he said.
I thought that was a bit harsh.
Apart from that devastating fall, the afternoon and evening were fantastic. As I said to Nicktor, it’s always great to have someone else cook, but it’s brilliant when the food is so bloody good.
PS: We also saw James for a short while. When we arrived, he was still in bed and I think he returned shortly after talking to us about his future prospects. You’d be forgiven for thinking he was still a teenager.
