Classic Fish Pie

The perfect cool weather dish, this classic fish pie is a guaranteed crowd pleaser. Serve it with fresh seasonal greens and for a really hearty meal, basil pesto mashed potato always goes down particularly well.

ingredients

• 800g fish – a mix of smoked haddock, salmon and cod works well
• 200g large king prawns (uncooked)
• 50g plain flour
• 150 ml single cream
• Salt and freshly milled black pepper
• 425 ml whole milk
• 50g butter
• 1 bay leaf
• A little sprinkle of grated nutmeg
• 6 black peppercorns
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
• 500g pack puff pastry

method

1. { Pre-heat the oven to 180C }
2. Pour the milk and cream into a large saucepan and add the peppercorns, nutmeg, bay leaf and sprinkle of sea salt. Slowly bring up the heat so the mixture heats up gently – don’t let it boil. Chop the fish into large chunks and once the milk/cream mixture has warmed through, add the fish pieces with a slotted spoon. Leave for 5-6 minutes on a low-medium heat.
3. Remove the fish with a slotted spoon and place it in the bottom of the pie dish and drain the milk/cream mixture through a sieve into a jug.
4. Now you can make the sauce. In a clean saucepan, melt the butter and then stir in the flour to make a normal roux. Start to add the milk mixture little by little and stir continuously. Once all the milk mixture is incorporated you should have a nice white sauce that can be seasoned with salt and pepper. If it feels a bit thick, add a little more milk or cream. Leave to one side.
5. Add the prawns to the fish in the pie dish, and then pour over the sauce and add the parsley. Gently stir the fish pie mixture together.
6. Roll out the puff pastry and lay over the pie dish. Press down on the edges and if you want to, you can egg wash the top to make it extra brown and crispy.
7. Bake on a high shelf in the oven for 30-40 minutes, or until the top is nicely tinged brown.

Images: HM