Soph running a half marathon tomorrow, so she needs to carb load to have lots of energy for the race.

This fish gratin from BBC Good Food isn’t exactly carb heavy, as it’s just fish, spinach and sauce. Very healthful, but not the carbs that Soph needs.

So I’m doctoring it by adding potatoes. And cheesy garlic bread.

The fish I’m using is just a fish pie mix that’s been in the freezer for a while. I don’t want to overcook it, which I would need to if I added raw potatoes to the mix. I know in theory thinly sliced potatoes should cook in 30 minutes… but potatoes always take longer than they should, and there’s little worse than undercooked potatoes. So I’ll microwave the sliced potatoes for about five minutes before cooking them with the rest of the gratin.

The spinach gets wilted in hot water from the kettle, then rinsed and drained, then it’s just layering up and topping with the creamy cheesy top and breadcrumbs.

The garlic bread will be my sourdough baguettes, which I’ll slice up, top with a garlic & butter mix, then grated cheddar and grill (broil).

The gratin goes in at 160C fan for 30 minutes, and I managed to time things perfectly to have the garlic bread grilled just in time for the gratin to come out.

And the gratin.

And serve!

So much for my timing. The gratin wasn’t very hot, and despite the microwaving of the potatoes… they weren’t properly cooked.

We were hungry, so we ate around the potatoes while the rest of the gratin went back in the oven to finish cooking – so at least my seconds later on will be properly cooked!