Party Fish Pie

11 April 2012

Preparation: 50 minutes. Cooking: 60 minutes. Serves 10-12

Fish pie can be as simple or elaborate as you like, but by choosing undyed smoked haddock and thick fillets of cod and mixing them with tiger prawns, all held in a parsley-and-hard-boiled-egg sauce under a crusty mashed-potato topping, the results will be memorable. It is the ideal party dish to make in advance because it will keep perfectly, covered, the fridge, for up to 24 hours. I like to serve it with frozen petits pois mixed with lightly cooked green beans, which I always cut in half to make serving easier. Quantities given are generous; any leftovers will reheat perfectly.

Ingredients

1.2kg thick cod fillet
1.2kg undyed smoked haddock
1 litre milk
2 bay leaves
4 large eggs, preferably organic and free range
150g butter
75g flour
400g headless, raw tiger prawns
2 tsp anchovy sauce
5 tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley
salt and pepper
21/2 kg King Edward or other floury potatoes

Cooking Instructions

Preheat the oven to 400F/200C/gas mark 6.
Cut the cod and haddock into big pieces and lay out in a frying pan or similarly wide-based pan. You will probably need to do this in batches. Use 750ml of the milk, add the bay leaves and cook the fish for about six minutes until just cooked through. Remove the fish to a plate to cool.
Strain the milk from the pan and plate into a measuring jug and top up with 250ml water and extra milk to end up with 750ml liquid.
Meanwhile, boil the eggs for 10 minutes. Drain and peel. Melt 75g butter in a medium pan and stir in the flour until smooth. Gradually incorporate the 750ml milk mixture, stirring constantly as the sauce comes to the boil, giving it a good whisk if it turns lumpy. Reduce the heat immediately and simmer for 10 minutes.
If using frozen prawns, slip them into a bowl of warm water and leave for five minutes. Drain and remove the shells. Run a sharp knife down their backs and remove the black veins.
Add prawns and anchovy sauce to the hot sauce, stirring as the prawns turn pink. Taste and adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper. Tip it into a mixing bowl. Chop the eggs and add them together with the parsley.
Run your forefinger over the fish to locate then remove any bones. Flake the fish off the skin into big pieces and stir loosely into the sauce. I used two large gratin dishes with a total capacity of six litres but deeper dishes would be fine. Spoon in the fish
mixture and leave to get cold - this avoids the mash sinking in the middle.
Meanwhile, peel, chop, rinse and cook the potatoes in boiling salted water. Drain and mash with sufficient of the remaining milk and butter to make a fluffy but dense mash. Carefully spread the mash over the fish, smooth the surface then fluff with a fork. Grate the anari or Parmesan over the top, then bake for 30-35 minutes until bubbling and golden.

MORE ABOUT

Butter