Fish Pie

Name: How to cook Fish Pie - cookcic.com
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Us

Introduce

Chef :

John A

Fish Pie

More old-fashioned comfort food. The proportion of the different fish varieties used can be varied to reflect what you can readily obtain. For ease and speed I mostly use a commercial cheese sauce but a home-made cheese sauce can reflect the cook’s personal preference if wished. Capers are an acquired taste and are therefore optional.

Ingredient

Food ration :

4 servings

Cooking time :

80-90 minutes including prep. More if you make you

600-700 g

mixed fish. I usually use 200g salmon fillet, 200g smoked haddock and 300g cod loin. (Give or take!) Alternatively, just buy a couple of packets of mixed fish at the supermarket

150 g

king prawns

1 carton

cheese sauce (ideally c.350g but carton volumes vary)

eggs

650 g

potatoes. More potatoes can be used if the casserole is big enough and if a deeper topping is wanted

A few

capers (optional)

2-4

cherry or similar tomatoes (optional garnish), sliced

Cooking instructions

* Step 1

Hard-boil the eggs, cool and peel. Cut each egg in half, lengthways.

* Step 2

Simultaneously poach the fish in a large, shallow pan. I usually just bring to the boil and after 1 minute turn off the heat and leave on our electric hob to cool for 5 minutes. A gas hob might require a bit longer simmering.

* Step 3

Drain the fish and lay into a casserole dish, removing any skins and bones as you do so. Try to mix the varieties up a bit so that each portion will have some of everything.

* Step 4

Wipe the prawns on some kitchen paper and add to the casserole, plus the optional capers if desired.

* Step 5

Add the cheese sauce and gently but thoroughly mix.

* Step 6

Gently push the halved, hard-boiled eggs yolk-down into the mixture, spaced so that each portion contains a half-egg.

* Step 7

Boil the potatoes and mash them with a generous amount of butter and a little milk. The mash needs to be firmish, definitely not sloppy, but capable of spreading.

* Step 8

Using a dessert spoon or similar, gently top the casserole mixture with the mashed potato and spread the mash out with the back of the spoon to ensure a thorough and even coverage.

* Step 9

Draw the tines of a dinner fork “backwards” to create a light ridging effect. This step will help to get some crispy highlights in the end-product but can be omitted.

* Step 10

Add the garnish of sliced tomatoes if wished. Indeed, add any garnish that you’d like!

* Step 11

Place the casserole on the middle shelf of the oven and cook for 30-40 minutes at Gas Mark 5 or the equivalent on an electric oven - my Neff Circotherm setting is 160C.