Thrice-Smoked Fish Pie

Technically not what it says on the tin, but I love the word thrice and it has 3 smoked ingredients in it!

I never used to like fish-pie growing up but I have grown to love it. The use of 3 different types of fish in this recipe gives the dish an added depth when it comes to flavour. I used Basa, Smoked Mackerel and King Prawns in my dish but you can experiment with your favourite types of fish if you like, just remember that to end up with a similar result to this recipe you need to keep the proportions of the white, smoked and shellfish.

Ingredients:

500g Frozen White Fish Fillets

300g Smoked Fish Fillets

250g Frozen Shellfish

1 Litre of Milk

3 or 4 Bay leaves

1 Tbsp Whole Black Peppercorns

2-3 Tbsp Chopped Fresh Parsley (Curly-Leaf is better for fish)

1 Tbsp Flour

100g Butter

750g Floury White Potatoes (Peeled and diced)

White Wine Vinegar (You can use White Wine if you prefer)

2 Large Eggs + 1 Egg yolk

200g Smoked Cheddar (Grated)

Smoked Paprika

Method:

 Preheat the oven to 180C

1.Place the fish (removing any bones first), bay leaves, peppercorns and parsley into a large saucepan, and pour the milk and a generous glug of white wine vinegar over the top. Boil your potatoes in salted water.

2. Bring the pan to the boil, then immediately remove from the heat, cover with a lid and leave to stand for 10 mins. Hard boil your two eggs in this time.

3. Using 2 forks, break up the fish into small chunks, then strain off the liquid and reserve. Discard the bay leaves and peppercorns. Place the fish in an ovenproof dish, making sure there is an even distribution of the 3 fish, halve your hard-boiled eggs and add to the dish.

4. Drain and mash your potatoes with half the butter, the extra egg yolk and enough of the reserved milk mixture to make a creamy mash.

5. On a low heat, melt the remaining butter in a saucepan and stir in the flour to form a roux. Turn up the heat to high and gradually add the remaining milk mixture to the pan, whisking as you go. Once all of the liquid has been added, bring almost to the boil and remove from the heat and stir to form a thick sauce. Season with salt & pepper to taste and pour the sauce over the fish.

6. Spoon the mash over the fish and sprinkle the smoked cheddar and paprika over the top. Put in the oven and bake for at least 45 mins, or until the cheese has formed a golden crust on top of the pie.      

7. Enjoy with lightly steamed vegetables like carrots, green beans and baby corn and some tartare sauce.