Fish Pie (for Easter!)
Ingredients
Fish
- 400 g / 14 oz smoked fish of choice (Note 1)
- 400 g / 14 oz raw unsmoked fish of choice, I used Perch (Note 2)
- 3 cups / 750 ml milk, low fat or full fat
- 1 brown onion, quartered (Note 3)
- 4 cloves, optional (Note 4)
White Sauce
- 50 g / 3 tbsp unsalted butter
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/2 small onion, finely chopped
- 1 small carrot, finely chopped
- 1 small celery stick, finely chopped
- 1/3 cup / 50g plain flour (all purpose flour, Note 11 for GF)
- 1 tbsp fresh tarragon, finely chopped (optional)
- 2 tbsp parsley, finely chopped
- Salt and pepper
Potato Topping
- 750 g / 1.5 lb floury potatoes, peeled and cut into 2.5cm / 1″ pieces (Note 5)
- 30 g / 2 tbsp+ unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup / 125 ml milk, any fat %
Pie
- 1 cup frozen peas
- 4 hard boiled eggs, quartered (optional) (Note 6)
- 30 g / 2 tbsp butter, melted
- 1/4 cup / 15g grated parmesan cheese, optional
- Finely chopped parsley, for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- 1
Fish - Push a clove into the skin of each onion. Place in a pot or large skillet, add milk, turn stove onto medium high heat.
- 2
Fish - When milk is barely simmering, add fish – don't worry if it's not entirely covered, it can be turned / moved around.
- 3
Fish - Poach fish for 7 minutes, then use a slotted spoon to transfer fish straight into a medium baking dish (Note 8).
- 4
Fish - Flake into chunks using forks. Remove bones if you see any.
- 5
Fish - Use slotted spoon to remove onion and cloves from milk, discard. RESERVE milk.
- 6
Fish - Preheat oven to 180C/350F. Boil water for potatoes.
- 7
Sauce - Melt butter in a large, deep skillet or pot over medium high heat. Add onion and garlic, cook for 1 minute. Then add celery and carrot, cook for 5 minutes until carrot is soft.
- 8
Sauce - Turn heat down to medium low. Add flour, mix in – it will look gluey.
- 9
Sauce - Add half the milk and quickly start mixing. Once incorporated, the mixture will thicken quickly. Add remaining milk and stir. (Video helpful here)
- 10
Sauce - Turn heat up to medium and keep stirring until the mixture thickens to the consistency of honey – about 3 minutes. (Note 7)
- 11
Sauce - Take it off the heat, stir through tarragon and parsley. Adjust salt and pepper to taste.
- 12
Pie - Scatter top of flaked fish with peas, then pour over the Sauce. GENTLY stir through (don't want fish to turn into mush!).
- 13
Pie - Smooth top, then nestle egg in all over the pie.
- 14
Mashed Potato - Bring a large pot of water to the boil. Add potatoes and cook for 15 minutes or until soft. (Do this while making the Sauce).
- 15
Mashed Potato - Drain potato, add butter, milk, salt and pepper. Mash until creamy – add more milk if required.
- 16
Mashed Potato - Immediately dollop then spread onto pie (cold mash = hard to spread).
- 17
Mashed Potato - Use fork to draw squiggles on surface (rough surface = better golden bits).
- 18
Bake Pie - Drizzle surface with melted butter, sprinkle with parmesan.
- 19
Bake Pie - Bake for 35 minutes or until top is deep golden.
- 20
Bake Pie - Stand for 5 minutes before serving, garnished with parsley if desired. See notes for reheating and make ahead.
