Haddock is a wonderful fish and I'm often surprised that we don't see it more often on local menus, other than at breakfast.

You can use haddock in so many ways. My favourites are oven-baked haddock and mashed potatoes, or today's delicious recipe where you add fresh chives and capers and serve it on a small twirl bed of spaghetti.

I have an Italian friend who, typically of his race, is quite happy to eat pasta for every meal and he often serves this dish of haddock with capers as a starter when he's entertaining.

We tease him and say the reason he serves pasta as a first course is because it fills up his guests so they eat less when the main course is served.

But the beauty of pasta is that it's not all that filling if you serve small portions and it also digests quick enough to make space for a main meal.

The other nice thing about this dish is that you can just as easily serve it as a main course if you increase the quantities.

To serve four starter portions of smoked haddock with capers and pasta you need:

Ingredients:

Instructions:

Pour milk into a large frying pan, add the bay leaves and haddock and bring to a gentle boil.

Cover and simmer for about 10 minutes or until the fish is cooked.

Remove fish with slotted spoon, remove skin and bones, flake gently and set aside.

Strain the milk into a jug and discard the bay leaves.

In a clean pan, melt the butter over low heat and add the onion.

Cook slowly for about five minutes.

Stir in the flour and cook for about a minute.

Remove pan from the heat and slowly add the milk in which the fish was cooked, stirring as you pour.

Return the milk pan to the heat, add the black pepper and cook and stir until the mixture thickens.

Now add the flaked fish, capers and chives and heat through. Serve immediately with the cooked pasta.