Fish pie

Fish pie is a traditional British recipe. This is my version (not traditional).

Like most casseroles, the amounts of ingredients are up to you.
This is a minimal recipe. At the end, I suggest some additional or substitute ingredients.

Cooking process

• Peel the and cut them into small pieces. Put them in a pan, cover with water, and boil for about ten minutes, until soft.
  
  
• Supermarkets sometimes sell packs of different types of raw fish for fish pie, and if you get one of those, the fish will already be cut into chunks. Otherwise choose interesting fish, remove any bones and skin, and chop into chunks. Put this into a casserole.
  
  
• Melt some butter, and add flour, then some water (you can use some of the water from the cooked potatoes). Stir well, and cook this until the flour mix thickens into a sauce. Add this on top of the fish.
  
  
• When the potatoes have cooked, add a lump of butter, and mash with a fork (or other implement if you have it).
  
  
• Add the mashed potato on top of the fish. You will find it easier if you put spoonfuls of mash in different places on top, rather than putting it all in one place and trying to spread it. Leave it rough and lumpy on top. If you want, you can grate some cheese on top.
  
  
• Cook in the oven for about 30 mins.
  
  

Other ideas

Fish (even interesting fish)and potato can be dull by themselves. Here are some suggestions for flavourings.

• The sauce for the fish can have alcohol added to it, pehaps some white wine. Or it could have Worcester sauce or any other flavouring.
  
  
• You can add some frozen peas to the fish. This adds some veg to this dish,which helps with the nutrition, and, I must confess, the look of it. You could, of course, cook the peas separately, or any other vegetables. If you don't, then this dish is definitely short of your "five a day". Perhaps a salad to accompany it?
  
  
• You can add some herbs. Parsley gets used with fish. I'm not fond of it myself, but other people seem to like it.
  
  
• Some people add milk to the potato. You can have mashed potato without butter or milk, and leave out the cheese as well, if you have lactose intolerance or other objections to milk products.
  
  
• The traditional recipes seem to cook the fish first, in milk, then add the milk to the sauce rather than water. I think it is better to not to, as the fish does not break up so much and it means that you aren't messingf around with cooked fish! It doesn't take much cooking to cook fish, so the half hour cooking in the oven is fine. And the fish seems to taste better. Of course, you could use milk in the sauce rather than water - another way to add flavour.
  
  

© Jo Edkins 2007 -