Eddie’s cosy fish pie recipe..
Why ‘cosy’ fish pie?
We call this one our cosy fish pie recipe because it’s perfect for coming home on cold days – just like we’ve been having this week.
Top tip: Double all the ingredients and make two pies or portions into ramekins for the perfect toddler meal.
We did this when our daughter was little and felt pretty smug about how organised we were!
The recipe below can easily be fiddled with. We love smoked haddock, but know it’s not to everybody’s taste, so you could substitute salmon fillet for the haddock, if you like, or use unsmoked haddock, or just increase the amount of cod. Certainly, when our daughter was small we used a lot less smoked haddock.
Also, if you buy your fish from a supermarket, the pack weights can vary – you can always make up some weight with a few prawns, or make extra and put what won’t fit in your pie dish in the freezer.
If you plan to freeze a full pie, construct it (apart from the cheese topping part) but don’t cook it.
Wrap the pie in two layers of foil and it will be good for up to 8 weeks.
Give it plenty of time to thaw – 24 hours in the fridge, add the cheesy topping, then be aware it will take 15 minutes or so longer in the oven, as it’s being cooked from chilled, not warm.
Cosy Fish Pie Recipe: serves four
Ingredients
750g Maris Piper potatoes, peeled and chopped for boiling (these are not watery, so make great mash)
350g cod fillet, skinned
200g smoked haddock
3 eggs, hard boiled (7 minutes)
400ml milk (or plant-based milk) plus a splash
25g butter or margarine, plus a dollop
25g plain flour
4 spring onions, finely sliced
1 tsp Dijon or English mustard
A teaspoon of tiny capers (optional)
handful grated cheddar
Pack of salt and vinegar crisps
Method:
Heat your oven to 180 degrees fan, gas mark 6
Put your potatoes in cold, salted water, bring to the boil and cook till they slide easily off a sharp knife.
When cooked, drain thoroughly then place the pan back on the hot ring (not turned on) to get the last of the steam out. Then mash until smooth, with a small amount of milk and a dollop of butter/margarine. You don’t want it to be too soft and buttery, or it can get a bit wet and unappetising when you cook it above the fish.
Chop your fish into 2cm square (ish) pieces.
Put the butter in a medium sized pan and melt, add the sliced spring onions and allow to soften
Mix your flour with your milk and add to the pan – keep it moving with a whisk or wooden spoon, so you don’t get any lumps as the milk thickens (you can do it the fancy way, with the butter and flour making a paste, then adding the milk, but I’m not great at that, so this is my cheat’s way to a white sauce!).
Once the sauce has thickened, remove it from the heat and stir through the mustard, then the capers if you’re using them (they give a sudden tang of vinegar when you get one in a mouthful, which we like), then the chopped chives and finally carefully fold in the fish.
Pour the mix into a deep pie dish and spread carefully to get it even over the base.
Peel and chop your eggs and scatter them onto the fish mix, then press them carefully under the sauce. We do this rather than stir the eggs into the sauce as they just break up too much.
Next, using two spoons carefully place dollops of potato on top, evenly across the fish, then gently blend all the dollops together across the top.
Take your crisps and gently break them up into medium to small sized pieces and scatter over the potato, then scatter the grated cheese on top.
Place on a baking tray and put onto a middle shelf of the oven, and bake for 25-30 mins, till golden on top and bubbling round the edges.
Serve with peas and or sweetcorn, and a glass of chilled pinot grigio.
FREEZING
If you plan to freeze a full pie, construct it (apart from the cheese topping part) but don’t cook it.
Wrap the pie in two layers of foil and it will be good for up to 8 weeks.
Give it plenty of time to thaw – 24 hours in the fridge, AT LEAST, add the cheesy topping, then be aware it will take 15 minutes or so longer in the oven, as it’s being cooked from chilled, not warm.
Eddie – Friday 10th January 2025.