Luxury Fish Pie Recipes

LUXE FISH PIE

Steps:

• Place the fish fillets in a large, wide saucepan and pour over the milk. Add the onion wedges and bay leaves, tucking them in around the fish. Bring to a very gentle simmer, then cover with a lid and remove from the heat immediately. Leave to stand and infuse for 10 mins or until the fish is just cooked. Drain the fish in a colander over a large jug to reserve the infused milk, then tip the fish into a bowl. Set aside.
• Meanwhile, make the topping. Put the potatoes in a large saucepan of cold water, bring to the boil, then simmer for 15 mins or until the potatoes are soft but not falling apart. Drain well, return to the pan and mash with the butter, half the cheese and the crème fraîche until smooth. Season to taste and set aside.
• To finish the filling, melt the butter in a medium saucepan and stir in the flour. Cook for a few secs, then gradually add the infused milk, stirring over a medium heat for 3 mins until the sauce is smooth and thick. Stir in the spinach and wine or vermouth, if using, and cook for 2 mins more. Remove from the heat and stir in the dill. Season to taste.
• Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Spoon a third of the sauce into the base of a 3-litre shallow rectangular dish. Scatter half the fish fillets over the sauce, breaking them into chunky pieces and discarding the skin, any stray bones, onion and bay leaves as you go. Pour over another third of the sauce, then top with more fish. Continue the layers once more, finishing with sauce.
• Spoon the potato over the fish mixture, starting at the edges. Swirl the potato with the back of a spoon and sprinkle over the remaining cheese. Place the dish on a baking tray and bake in the centre of the oven for 45 mins or until the potato is golden and the filling is bubbling.

FANTASTIC FISH PIE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 230°C/450°F/gas 8.
• Peel and dice the potatoes into 2.5cm chunks, then put into boiling salted water and bring back to the boil for 2 minutes.
• Carefully add the eggs to the pan and cook for a further 8 minutes, or until hard-boiled, by which time the potatoes should also be cooked.
• At the same time, steam the spinach in a colander above the pan. This will only take a minute. When the spinach is done, remove from the colander and gently squeeze out any excess moisture.
• Drain the potatoes in the colander. Remove the eggs, cool under cold water, then peel and quarter them. Place to one side.
• Peel and finely chop the onion, then peel, halve and finely chop the carrot.
• In a separate pan, slowly fry the onion and carrot in a little oil for about 5 minutes, then add the double cream and bring just to the boil.
• Remove from the heat and finely grate in 2 good handfuls of cheese, then squeeze in the lemon juice and stir through the mustard.
• Pick and finely chop the parsley and stir into the cream mixture.
• Slice the fish into strips then place in an earthenware dish with the spinach and eggs and mix together, pouring over the creamy vegetable sauce.
• The cooked potatoes should be drained and mashed - add a bit of oil, sea salt, black pepper and a touch of nutmeg (if using). Spread on top of the fish. Don't bother piping it to make it look pretty - it's a homely hearty thing.
• Place in the oven for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the potatoes are golden.
• Serve with some nice peas or greens, not forgetting your baked beans and tomato ketchup. Tacky but tasty, and that's what I like.

JAMIE OLIVER'S FISH PIE

Steps:

• Place the potatoes in a large pot of boiling water or in a steamer and cook until soft.
• Pour boiling water over the peas to de-frost them then blend in a food processor.
• Mash the potatoes then mix in peas, butter and lemon zest. Season to taste.
• Pre-heat the oven to 200°c.
• To make the fish pie, poach the fish in the milk with the bay leaf. When the fish is cooked, remove the fish and flake into large chunks. Reserve the milk.
• In a large, oven-proof frying pan fry the onion and carrot in a splash of olive oil until soft and fragrant. Add the garlic and fry for another 30 seconds.
• Add the flour and stir then add the milk the fish was poached to create a creamy sauce.
• Add the English mustard and fish and stir well then add the cheese and lemon juice and stir.
• Season to taste.
• Top the fish filling with the mashed potato and create indents with a spoon which will become nice and crispy in the oven.
• Place the pie in the oven and allow to bake for 30-40 minutes until the top is golden brown and crispy.
• Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes then serve.

LUXURY FISH PIE WITH ROSTI CAPER TOPPING

Steps:

• First of all, prepare the potatoes by scrubbing them, but leaving the skins on. As they all have to cook at the same time, if there are any larger ones cut them in half. Then place them in a saucepan with enough boiling, salted water to barely cover them and cook them for 12 minutes after they have come back to the boil, covered with the lid. Strain off the water and cover them with a clean tea cloth to absorb the steam. Meanwhile, heat the wine and fish stock in a medium saucepan, add the bay leaf and some seasoning, then cut the halibut in half if it's a large piece, add it to the saucepan and poach the fish gently for 5 minutes. It should be slightly undercooked. Then remove the fish to a plate, using a draining spoon, and strain the liquid through a sieve into a bowl. Now rinse the pan you cooked the fish in, melt the butter in it, whisk in the flour and gently cook for 2 minutes. Then gradually add the strained fish stock little by little, whisking all the time. When you have a smooth sauce, turn the heat to its lowest setting and let the sauce gently cook for 5 minutes. Then, whisk in the crème fraîche, followed by the cornichons, parsley and dill. Give it all a good seasoning and remove it from the heat. To make the rösti, peel the potatoes and, using the coarse side of a grater, grate them into long shreds into a bowl. Then add the capers and the melted butter and, using two forks, lightly toss everything together so that the potatoes get a good coating of butter. Now remove the skin from the white fish and divide it into chunks, quite large if possible, and combine the fish with the sauce. Next, if you're going to cook the fish pie more or less immediately, all you do is add the raw scallops and prawns to the fish mixture then spoon it into a well-buttered baking dish. Sprinkle the rösti on top, spreading it out as evenly as possible and not pressing it down too firmly. Then, finally scatter the cheese over the surface and bake on a high shelf of the oven for 35-40 minutes. If you want to make the fish pie in advance, this is possible as long as you remember to let the sauce get completely cold before adding the cooled white fish and raw scallops and prawns. When the topping is on, cover the dish loosely with clingfilm and refrigerate it until you're ready to cook it. Then give it an extra 5-10 minutes' cooking time.

THE ULTIMATE FISH PIE

Steps:

• For the potato topping, place the potatoes in a large pan of boiling salted water and cook for 15-20 minutes, or until tender. Drain the potatoes well and mash them with a potato masher or ricer along with salt, white pepper and butter, to taste. Stir in the gruyere and set aside the potatoes, keeping them warm. For the poaching broth, place the fish stock, vermouth, onion, fennel, carrot, celery, bay leaf and saffron in a large pan and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for five minutes. For the fish, place the white fish, smoked haddock, salmon and prawns into the broth and poach for three minutes. Using a slotted spoon, gently remove the fish from the pan and set aside. Pour the broth through a sieve into a clean pan, discarding the vegetables and herbs. Bring the broth back to the boil and simmer until reduced by half. For the parsley sauce, heat the butter and flour together in a pan over a low heat, stirring to make a paste. Add the reduced broth a ladleful at a time and keep whisking until smooth. Add the milk and the parsley, bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for ten minutes. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4. To finish the sauce, add the double cream to the pan and season, to taste, with salt and white pepper. To assemble the pie, butter a casserole dish generously and flake the set-aside fish, discarding any skin and bones. Lay the fish in the casserole dish and pour about half of the parsley sauce on top (reserve the remainder of the sauce to use as a pouring sauce on the finished pie). Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil and add the spinach to the pan. Blanch for a minute until the spinach has wilted. Drain well. Slice the hard-boiled eggs and lay on top of the fish, followed by the blanched spinach. Cover with the mashed potatoes. In a small bowl, mix together the ciabatta crumbs and the parmesan. Sprinkle the cheese breadcrumbs on top of the pie. Place in the preheated oven and bake for about 20-25 minutes, or until the top is golden-brown. Reheat the parsley sauce and serve the pie hot with the remaining parsley sauce poured over.