Baking a fish pie needn’t involve using every pan in your house. In this simple recipe the veg are included in the pie so you don’t even need a side dish
Fish Pie
200g boneless white fish fillets
200g skinless salmon fillet (pin-boned)
450ml full-fat milk
750g potatoes, peeled and halved
1 tbsp olive oil
4 baby leeks, finely sliced
3 shallots, diced
2 fennel bulbs, finely sliced
100g butter
2 tbsp plain flour
150g frozen peas
3 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
juice of 1 lemon
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 Preheat oven to 180C/Fan 160C/350F.
2 Place the fish in a baking dish, season and pour over 400ml of the milk. Cover with foil and bake for 15 minutes until the fish flakes slightly when pressed with a fork.
3 Remove the fish, reserving the milk. When cool enough to handle, flake the fish into bite- sized pieces and set aside.
4 Place the potatoes in a pot, cover with salted cold water, bring to the boil and simmer until soft. 5 Heat the olive oil in a shallow casserole over a low to medium heat on the hob and sautée the leeks, shallots and fennel until soft. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.
6 Melt 50g of the butter in the casserole, stir in the flour and cook over a low heat for 2-3 mins. Slowly add the reserved milk and continue to cook until thickened, stirring continuously.
7 Add the flaked fish, sautéed leeks, shallots and fennel, peas, 1 tbsp of the parsley and the lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper.
8 Drain the potatoes and mash with the remaining 50ml milk, 50g butter and rest of the chopped parsley until smooth. Season to taste.
9 Spoon the mash on top of the fish mixture and smooth with a spatula. Trace a pattern into the mash with a fork.
10 Place the casserole into the oven and bake for 20–25 mins or until golden.
Read more:
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All this in our November COMFORT issue. You'll find us in even more Waitrose and Sainsbury's stores this month plus WH Smiths, Tesco and good independents. We're on sale now somewhere near you.
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