March 10, 2024 / In food , fish / Tagged as: onion, cloves, bay leaf, milk, cream, butter, flour, nutmeg, potatoes, peas, cod, haddock

Fish Pie

Total Cook Time

60 mins

Ingredients

  • 450g cod
  • 250g undyed smoked cod or smoked haddock fillet
  • 1 onion, thickly sliced
  • 2 cloves
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 600ml milk, ideally whole milk
  • 300ml double cream
  • 1.25kg flowery potatoes (Maris Piper or King Edward)
  • 50g butter for the rue
  • 50g butter for the potatotes
  • 45g flour for the rue, roughly
  • 1 egg yolk, whisked
  • 5 tbsp chopped parsley
  • 100g green peas (optional)

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees C.
  2. Stud a couple of the onion slices with the cloves.
  3. Add the onion slices to a pan with the bay leaf, 450ml of the milk, the cream and the fish. Bring just to the boil and simmer for 8 minutes.
  4. After 8 minutes lift the fish out onto a plate. KEEP the reserved liquid.
  5. KEEP the reserved liquid ;)
  6. Scatter the fish in the base of a 1.75L ovenproof dish.
  7. Add 100g green peas (optional).
  8. Make a white sauce using the butter and flour. Avoid adding too much flour.
  9. Stir in the reserved cooking milk/cream mix to make the white sauce.
  10. Add nutmeg, parsley and salt & pepper to the sauce once you are happy with the sauce consistency.
  11. Pour the sauce over the fish.
  12. Boil the potatoes for 15–20 minutes. Drain, mash and add the rest of the butter and the egg yolk.
  13. Add salt and freshly ground white pepper. Beat in enough of the remaining milk to form a soft spreadable mash.
  14. Spoon the potato over the filling and mark the surface with a fork. Bake for 35–40 minutes, until piping hot and golden brown.

Notes

Fish pie is comfort food and luxuriant creamy smooth mash is found in traditional versions. Omit the cream and butter if you want a lower fat option though.

Alternatives include:

  • add leek to the fish mixture
  • add 100g creme fraiche to the mashed potato instead of milk/cream

https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/how_to_make_fish_pie_56143

https://thehappyfoodie.co.uk/recipes/fish-pie/

https://rickstein.com/blog/rick-steins-cornwall-fish-pie-recipe/