The older I get the keener I am to keep ingredients out of recipes instead of adding them. This is as simple a recipe for fish pie as you can imagine but if the fish is good (and that includes the smoked fish which must be of the best quality), there is no better fish dish in the world than British fish pie, with boiled eggs and parsley of course.
INGREDIENTS
Serves 8
- 1 medium onion, thickly sliced
- 4 cloves
- 1 fresh bay leaf
- 1.2l whole milk
- 600ml double cream
- 900g unskinned pollock fillet
- 450g undyed smoked haddock fillet
- 24 large cooked prawns
- 8 eggs
- 200g butter
- 90g plain flour
- Large handful flat-leaf parsley, chopped
- Freshly grated nutmeg
- 2.5kg peeled floury potatoes such as Maris Piper or King Edward
- 2 egg yolks
- Salt and freshly ground white pepper
METHOD
Put the onion slices and cloves in a large pan with the bay leaf, 900ml of the milk, the cream, pollock and smoked haddock. Bring just to the boil and turn down to simmer for 6 minutes. Lift the fish out to a plate and strain the cooking liquor into a jug. When the fish is cool enough to handle, break it into large flakes, discarding the skin and bones. Sprinkle it over the base of a shallow 3.5 litre ovenproof dish.
Hard-boil the eggs for 8 minutes, then drain and leave to cool. Peel and cut them into chunky slices and arrange on top of the fish.
Melt 100g of the butter in a pan, add the flour and cook for 1 minute. Take the pan off the heat and gradually stir in the reserved cooking liquor. Return it to the heat and bring slowly to the boil, stirring all the time. Leave it to simmer gently for 10 minutes to cook out the flour. Remove from the heat once more, stir in the parsley and prawns and season with nutmeg, salt and white pepper. Pour the sauce over the fish and leave to cool. Chill in the fridge for 1 hour.
Boil the potatoes for 15 – 20 minutes. Drain, then using a hand whisk purée the potatoes until lump free and fluffy, add the remaining butter and the egg yolks. Season with salt and freshly ground white pepper. Beat in enough of the remaining milk to form a soft, spreadable mash.
Pre-heat the oven to 200ºC/180c fan. Spoon the potato over the filling and mark the surface with a fork. Bake for 35 – 40 minutes, until piping hot and golden brown.
Serve with steamed garden peas or any seasonal green vegetables.
