Baltic Herring Casserole

Well... The title is a bit misleading. See, you can't get fresh Baltic Herring in Australia, so I had to substitute this with another type of fish. I am a complete devotee of jarred herring and thankfully I can get good Swedish herring here in Sydney. This casserole, however, has been something I've longed for every now and then until I finally realised I could try making it with sardines instead of herring! It's a victory! There is no better dish for cold winter nights... this is my comfort food :)

Baltic herring casserole

700 g sardines, gutted, filleted, fillets cut in half lengthwise and seasoned with salt
5-6 large potatoes, (any good all-arounder will do), cut into 1cm thick round slices
small bunch of dill, finely chopped
small onion, finely chopped

2 large eggs
400 ml milk
1 tbsp plain flour
1/2 tsp ground white pepper
salt

Place a layer of potatoes on the bottom of a greased oven proofed dish. Sprinkle with onions and dill and top with sardines. Continue layer by layer until the dish is full placing a layer of potatoes on top. Mix together eggs, milk, plain flour and seasoning and pour over the dish. Bake in 175C for 1,5-2 hours. Serve with pickled beetroot.