Classic Fish Pie Recipe

Classic Fish Pie Recipe (serves 2)

Like religion or politics, the question of what should go into a fish pie is so divisive that it should never be brought up in polite company. We’re very proud of our Classic Fish Pie and it’s a longstanding customer favourite, so we thought we’d share the recipe. Now you can make it – or a version of it – at home. You can replace the prawns with more fish, add capers, smoked salmon or hard-boiled egg, sprinkle cheese on top, take out the wine, add some peas … whatever takes your fancy. This is for 2 good-sized portions, but the recipe is easily doubled if you have more mouths to feed.

Ingredients

120g tiger prawns (raw or cooked)

180g mixed diced Cod and Smoked Haddock (or fish pie mix)

20g Plain Flour

350g Maris Piper Potatoes

Half a small Onion, diced

30g Butter

50ml semi-skimmed Milk

1 Lemon

Fish Stock (from a Stock Cube is fine)

Small glass of dry White Wine

Small glass of dry Sherry

2 tbsp Double Cream

I Egg Yolk

Small handful fresh Chives, chopped

Handful of fresh Parsley, chopped

Salt and White Pepper to taste

Paprika to sprinkle

Method

Pre-heat the oven to 180C and put a pan of salted water on to boil. Peel and dice your potatoes and add to the pan. Keep an eye on them, and once cooked, drain and set aside to make the mash.

In another saucepan, heat the milk over a low heat. Add the diced cod and haddock and poach gently until cooked. If using raw prawns, poach these too. Remove the fish/prawns and reserve the milk.

In a third pan, make a roux by melting half the butter and stirring in the flour. Add the poaching milk, stirring constantly. Add some fish stock and keep stirring until you have a nice, smooth sauce with the right consistency for your pie.

In yet another pan, melt a knob of butter and add the onion. Cook over a low heat until soft and clear. Add the sherry, wine and a squeeze of lemon juice and cook for about 15 minutes, reducing the liquid until the onions begin to sizzle. Then add the onion and wine reduction to the milk-based sauce along with the cream, chives and half the parsley. Stir well.

In a pie dish, arrange your fish and prawns evenly on the bottom. Pour over the sauce.

Mash the potatoes with the remaining butter, egg yolk and remaining parsley. Carefully spread the mash on top of the fish and sauce (it doesn’t matter if the sauce seeps through in the odd place). Sprinkle diagonal stripes of paprika on top.

Cook in the oven for 20-25 minutes. Enjoy!