Rick Stein’s Classic Fish Pie
Fish pie - it’s the ultimate comfort food, and no one does it better than the king of seafood himself, Rick Stein. And today he’s using the best Cornish smoked haddock, prawns and the fluffiest potatoes in order to show you how to master this classic people-pleasing dish.
Fish PieServes 6
INGREDIENTS:
1 small onion, sliced
2 cloves
1 bay leaf
600ml whole milk
300ml double cream
225g undyed smoked haddock fillet
450g unskinned cod fillet
150g large, peeled, cooked king prawns
4 hard-boiled eggs
100g butter
45g plain flour
5 tbsp chopped flat leaf parsley
Freshly grated nutmeg
1.25kg floury potatoes, such as Maris Pipers or King Edwards, peeled
1 egg yolk
Salt and freshly ground white pepper
METHOD:
Put the onion and cloves in a large pan with the bay leaf, 450ml of the milk and the cream. Bring just to the boil and simmer for 10 minutes. Add the fish and cook for about 3 minutes until just set. Lift the fish out and strain the liquor into a jug. Flake the fish, discarding the skin and any bones, then put it in a shallow 1.75litre ovenproof dish with the cooked onion. Add the prawns, then peel the eggs, cut them into chunky slices and arrange on top of the fish.
Melt 50g 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. Put the pan back over the heat and bring the sauce slowly to the boil, stirring all the time. Leave it to simmer gently for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat again, stir in the parsley and season with nutmeg, salt and white pepper. Pour the sauce over the fish and leave to cool. Once cool, chill in the fridge for 1 hour.
Boil the potatoes for 15-20 minutes. Drain, mash and add the rest of the butter and the yolk. Season with salt and white pepper. Beat in enough of the remaining milk to form a soft, spreadable mash.
Preheat the oven to 200C/fan 180C. Spoon the mash over the filling and mark the surface with a fork. Bake for 35-40 minutes, until piping hot and golden brown.
TIP: Try making this with haddock or hake instead of cod. I just think smoked haddock is essential.