A delicious fish pie cooked by Thomas. Perfectly cooked fish and seafood topped with an excellent creamy mash. What’s not to like?
Make the mash first. Peel 1kg (2.2 lbs) of starchy potatoes and cut them into 5cm (2″) dice. Place them in a pan, cover with cold water and bring to boil. Cook for 15 minutes until quite soft. Drain them into a colander, and mash with a potato masher, adding 1½ tablespoons of butter and 3 tablespoons of cream. If the mash is too firm, add some milk to loosen it. Season with salt and freshly ground white pepper to taste and set aside. Now preheat your oven to 180ºC (150ºF). To make the sauce, heat 2 ½ cups of full cream milk, an onion and a bay leaf in a saucepan until barely simmering – do not boil. Meanwhile, in another saucepan, melt 2 tablespoons of butter. Add 2 tablespoons of flour and cook, stirring together for a minute or so. Slowly add the hot milk (discard the onion and bay leaf) a little at a time, using a whisk to make sure there are no lumps. When the sauce is smooth and thickened, turn off the heat and stir through 75g (2⅔ oz) of grated tasty cheddar cheese, some coarsely chopped parsley and some freshly ground black pepper to taste. Set aside. Peel and devein 15 large prawns (shrimp) or an equivalent amount of smaller ones. Skin and cut 2 boneless salmon fillets and 2 boneless white fish fillets into pieces that will cook in the same amount of time as your prawns. Place the fish and prawns into a bowl and mix in the sauce. Transfer the mixture to a pie dish and spoon the mash over the top. Bake for 45 minutes or until the fish and prawns are cooked through and the potato starts to brown. Serve hot.
michelle picker cooks 