Katie Quinn Davies shares this recipe for fish pie, classically topped with a cheesy mash.
- Preheat the oven to 180ºC.
- Place salmon, trout, blue-eye and prawn meat into a large mixing bowl. Season with a little salt and a generous amount of freshly ground black pepper.
- Warm olive oil in a large, deep frypan over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring, for 3-4 minutes, then add garlic and celery and cook for 5-6 minutes to soften. Add fish and cook for a further 1-2 minutes. Remove from heat. Set aside.
- For the sauce, melt butter in a saucepan over medium-low heat. When melted, add flour and whisk to combine, stirring for 1 minute. Add the milk and continue whisking to form a smooth paste. Add white wine, whisking together, then stir in parsley, dill, parmesan, and lemon zest and juice. Season to taste. Pour the sauce over the fish and stir to coat thoroughly.
- For the mash, place potatoes in a large saucepan and cover in cold, salted water over medium-high heat. Bring to the boil, reduce heat to medium and cook potatoes for 20-30 minutes until soft.
- Meanwhile, place garlic cloves on a small baking tray and roast in the oven for 30 minutes until the centre is soft. Remove and allow to cool slightly before squeezing out inner pulp and discarding outer skin.
- Drain potatoes, and return to the pan. Add the roasted garlic pulp, butter, milk, buttermilk, parmesan and half the vintage cheddar, and mash thoroughly until smooth and creamy. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Add a little more milk if you like your mash really smooth and creamy. Allow to cool, then add one-third of the mash to a piping bag fitted with a 1.5-2cm star-shaped nozzle.
- Fill a large, deep ovenproof pie dish (about 10cm deep) with the fish filling. Add a large spoonful of potato mash to the top of the pie and carefully spread out using a palette knife to form a potato ‘lid’. Onto the ‘lid’ pipe potato stars to cover the entire pie top. Alternatively, spread mashed potato onto pie and fluff up with a fork. Dot the top of the pie with a few knobs of butter and the remaining 50g vintage cheddar.
- Bake in the oven for 30-40 minutes until potato is crispy and golden brown. If you wish, place pie under a hot grill to get the top really crisp and crunchy.
You may need it
Store Spice Organizer
Food Storage Container Set
Kitchen Utensil Set