Jack’s Simple Fish Pie
A Girl Called Jack
Posted by Penguin
About
I love a fish pie but, when time is tight and I fancy something similar, I make fish in a white sauce and serve it with a pile of fluffy mash with cheese instead. Fancy restaurants would call that ‘deconstructed’ – I call it ‘quicker and easier’. This fish pie recipe below is a delicious midweek treat, and can be made in separate individual-sized portions to freeze.
Serves 4–6
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You Will Need (12 things)
- 1 kg Potatoes , fresh or tinned
- 1 Large Onion
- 1 A handful of chopped Fresh Thyme
- 350 g Skinless river cobbler or other firm white Fish
- 350 g skinless smoked Haddock
- 300 ml Whole Milk , plus extra to mash the potatoes
- 4 Eggs
- 50 g Hard strong Cheese
- 30 g Butter , plus extra to mash the potatoes
- 2 tbsp Heaped Plain Flour
- 70 g Spinach leaves
- 1 A handful of Fresh Parsley
Steps (6 steps, 60 minutes)
-
1
Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/gas 4.
-
2
Wash and dice the potatoes (or drain if using tinned ones)
and bring to the boil in a large saucepan of water. Reduce to
a medium heat and cook until tender – 20 minutes for fresh
potatoes, 5 minutes for tinned. -
3
Meanwhile, poach the fish. Peel and slice the onion and put
into a large sauté pan or saucepan with the thyme. Add the
fish, cover with the milk, and poach on a low heat for around 8
minutes. Remove the pan from the heat, take out the fish and
onion pieces and place on a plate. Flake the fish with a fork.
Reserve the poaching liquid to make the sauce with later.
Boil or poach the eggs in a small saucepan for 6 minutes.
Drain and carefully spoon on to the fish plate. -
4
Check the potatoes – they should be very soft by now. When
cooked, drain the potatoes and tip back into the saucepan.
Mash with a little milk and butter. Grate the cheese into the
mash and stir well to melt through. -
5
Melt the butter in a milk pan over a low heat and add 1
tablespoon of the flour. Stir well with a wooden spoon to make
a thick paste. Add the other tablespoon of flour and repeat.
Now take a tablespoon of the reserved poaching liquid and stir
it into the paste until well mixed in. Repeat, gradually adding
more liquid, until blended together in a thick sauce. You may
not need to use all the poaching liquid. Add the spinach, stir to
wilt, then tip in the cooked eggs, mashing them with the back
of a fork to break up. Add the onion then the flaked fish and
mix everything together well to coat in the sauce. -
6
Spoon the fish mixture into a large ovenproof casserole dish
then top with the potato mash, starting at the edge of the dish
and working inwards, using a fork to fluff up the top. Bake in
the preheated oven for 20 minutes, until the mash is golden
and crispy on top.