Fish pie is one of those wonderful comfort foods, perfect for a cold day when you want something lovely and warming. It is a bit of a labour of love, as there are a few stages, but all very easy to do.
I like to use cod loin and salmon but you can use haddock if you prefer, or a mix, including smoked and unsmoked. Peeled prawns can also be swapped for king prawns if you are feeling extravagant!
I've learnt over the years that one of the keys to a good fish pie is to remove any excess liquid from the fish and prawns. They are often frozen to keep them fresh when they hit our chiller cabinets, so they often include excess water. The recipe below explains how to remove that liquid and avoid a watery white sauce.
4-6 people
For the fish
500g cod loin (or mix of cod, haddock etc including smoked and non-smoked)
2 salmon fillets
500ml of milk
2 bay leaves
175g peeled prawns
Black pepper
For the white sauce
50g butter
5 tablespoons of plain flour
1 teaspoon of Dijon mustard
Nutmeg
25g cheddar
500ml milk including milk from the fish
For the leeks
1 leek
Knob of butter
For the mashed potato
1kg Maris Piper potatoes
Knobs of butter
Milk
Salt
Cheddar
You will need a large, ovenproof dish - approx 26cm x 20cm or similar capacity.
Start making the mashed potato
- Peel the potatoes and cut into even sized chunks and place in a large pan of salted water.
- Bring to the boil and then simmer over a medium heat until tender.
Begin cooking the fish
- Whilst the potatoes are cooking, remove any bones from the fish.
- Place the fish in a lidded sauté pan and cover with the milk.
- Throw in the bay leaves and cover.
- Bring to the boil and then simmer for 4 minutes.
- Turn off the heat and leave for 10 minutes, to finish cooking the fish.
- Remove the fish from the pan with a slotted fish slice, place on a plate and leave to cool for 5-10 minutes.
- Pour the milk from the sauté pan into a jug.
Finish making the mash
- By now, the potatoes should have cooked. Drain them and then place back into the pan.
- Add generous knobs of butter, drizzle of milk and season with salt to taste. If the mash is too stiff, simply add more milk to loosen the mixture. Set aside.
Finish preparing the fish
- Drain any liquid from the fish into the jug (this is an important step so your white sauce doesn't become watery whilst the fish pie is cooking).
- Remove the skin from the salmon (it should just peel off).
- Season the fish with black pepper.
Sauté the leek
- Top and tail the leek, and then dice.
- Melt a generous knob of butter in a small pan.
- Add the leek and sauté over a low heat until lovely and soft. Set aside.
Drain the prawns
- Place the prawns in a small sieve over a bowl.
- After 5 minutes, throw away any liquid from the prawns.
- Dry the prawns with kitchen paper (not individually, obviously!).
Make the white sauce
- Grate the cheese.
- Melt the butter in a saucepan over a gentle heat.
- Stir in the flour and cook for a couple of minutes.
- Now slowly add the milk, stirring all of the time.
- Once all of the milk has been added, use a whisk to ensure the sauce is lovely and smooth.
- Stir in the Dijon mustard and grate in some nutmeg.
- Add the cheese and stir until it's melted into the sauce.
- Increase the heat slightly and stir for a few minutes until thickened. Set aside.
Assemble the fish pie
- Break the fish into bite sized chunks and scatter evenly over the bottom of the ovenproof dish.
- Scatter over the leeks and prawns.
- Pour over the sauce and mix to combine.
- Spread the mixture evenly.
- Use a spoon to top the fish mixture with mashed potato.
- Use a knife to level the mash and then use a fork to score the top - this will give you lovely crispy bits!
- When you are ready to cook the pie, place in an oven at 180 for 25-30 minutes until piping hot.
