Fish Pie

Making Fish Pie Ahead

Refrigerated for 2 days. Freezes 2 months assembled but unbaked.

How to Make Fish Pie

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1. Boil the potatoes in salted water 20 minutes until tender, drain and mash with the butter, milk and salt. Spread it out on a tray and leave it to go completely cold.

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2. Put both fish in a wide pan with the milk, onion, bay and peppercorns, bring barely to a simmer and poach 5 minutes, until just opaque.

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3. Lift the fish out, flake it into large pieces and discard the skin. Strain and keep the milk.

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4. Melt the butter, stir in the flour and cook 2 minutes, then whisk in the strained milk gradually and simmer 5 minutes.

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5. Take the sauce off the heat and stir in the cream, parsley, mustard, salt and white pepper.

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6. Scatter the flaked fish, raw prawns and quartered eggs in a baking dish and pour the sauce over gently.

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7. Spread the cold mash over the top in spoonfuls, joining them up, and rough the surface with a fork.

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8. Scatter with the cheddar and bake at 180°C / 355°F fan / 200°C / 390°F / gas 6 for 40 minutes, until bubbling at the edges and browned on top.

   Mark done Start 40 min timer

Related guide: Prep, cook and total time.

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A Few Pointers

• Poach in the milk that becomes the sauce.
• Cold mash on top. Warm mash sinks.
• Take the fish out barely opaque — it cooks again in the oven.

Behind the Recipe

Poach the fish in the milk you are going to make the sauce with, then use that milk — it is the difference between a fish pie that tastes of fish and one that tastes of white sauce. Take the fish out when it is barely opaque, because it cooks again in the oven and twice-cooked fish falls to shreds. And the mash must be cold and firm before it goes on: warm mash sinks straight through the sauce and you lose the layer entirely.

What to Put Next to It

Buttered peas · Wilted spinach · A cold white

Sides from the same cuisine on this site: Braised Red Cabbage, Fried Bread, Honey Roasted Carrots.

Changing the Recipe

• In a sauce, full-fat crème fraîche can usually take the place of the double cream; single cream is thinner and more likely to split if it boils, so keep it below a simmer.

Fish Pie FAQ

Nutrition per Serving

Per serving, calculated from the ingredient list with USDA FoodData Central figures (SR Legacy). A calculation, not a laboratory analysis: brands, cuts and how you measure change the real numbers. How the figures are worked out.

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