Fish pie

Prep: 30 mins

Cook: 40 mins

endeavoured to make the simplest, laziest and tastiest fish pie in less than 30 minutes. And you know what? It was very manageable and super tasty. It fed eight people, the wash-up was minimal and everyone’s plate was clean. I’m leaving it up to you what fish or shellfish you want to use. I used smoked cod, haddock and salmon, none of which I poached, but all of which the fishmonger had already skinned. Scallops, prawns and mussels would all be delicious additions. Serve with a big spoonful of buttery peas and enjoy.

100 g butter

150 g flour

1 litre milk

1 tbsp Dijon mustard

1 glass white wine

salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 massive bunch parsley, roughly chopped

1.5 kg skinned fish or prepared shellfish

2 kg spuds, peeled

a few knobs of butter

250 g cheddar, grated

cooked peas, to serve

Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°C/Gas mark 6

Melt the butter in a saucepan and add the flour to make a roux. Don’t let it burn, but do cook it over a gentle heat for at least 3 minutes to cook out the flour. It will look like dough. Gradually whisk in the milk. Lumps will come and go, but a whisk sorts this out.

Add the Dijon mustard and white wine. Check the seasoning and add in the parsley. The smoked fish will make it pretty salty, but make sure your béchamel still has good flavour.

Add in your fish and mix well. The sauce will still be pretty hot, so you’ll be able to mix the fish in very easily. Set aside for a few minutes while you finish off the spuds.

Chop the spuds into small chunks and put in a large saucepan of cold water. Bring up to the boil and cook until tender. Drain and put back in the pot with a tea towel on top. This helps them to go light and fluffy when mashed. Add the butter and mash quickly and roughly, then mix in the cheese. Season very lightly.

Pour the fish mix into a large gratin dish and top with a layer of mashed spuds. Bake for about 45 minutes, until the top is golden brown, then allow to settle for 10 minutes. Serve with peas.

Serves
6 to 8 hungry blokes, possibly 10 ladylike guests

Preparation Time
30 minutes

Cooking Time
40 minutes

Main ingredients
Shellfish, Cheese, Fish

Recipe Type
Dinner, Entertaining, Family Dinners

Cuisine
Seafood

Special Info
Nut free, Egg free

Level of Difficulty
Easy