How to make Creamy Fish Pie with Mushy Peas
Posted: 16 December '09 by Niall
Creamy fish pie with mushy peas
Kelly and I both love fish pie, and it makes a regular appearance on our dining table. It’s a real winter dish, being warming and filling, and it’s also economical – those fish fillets can be expensive, but combining them with potatoes, cheese, and creamy sauce makes them go that bit further.
Fish pie is something that should be relatively easy to make but it can go disasterously wrong – from a flavour-less, watery consistency all the way to a glue-like gloop. To my mind, the success of your pie comes down to the quality of your bechamel and the flavour of the creamed potatoes, but particularly the former. It really does pay to apply yourself – and your taste testing tastebuds – to this part.
This fish pie is filled with a mixture of smoked and unsmoked fish. Some recipes add salmon or prawns, but I think that that’s a bit over the top, and doesn’t really contribute anything to the recipe – the flavour of the smoked haddock in particular would just overshadow the more subtley flavoured prawns. The addition of parsley is important, however – it not only tastes good, but it also adds a splash of colour to an otherwise anemic, pale pie. The golden cheese crust is also vital in my book.
I usually accompany the fish pie with mushy peas. Although you can buy tins of mushy peas, nothing comes close to those that you can make yourself. It does take a bit of effort (soaking the peas overnight) but, believe me, it’s all worth it.
This recipe makes a hearty, four person Fish Pie.
You can see more photos hereImage 1Image 2Image 3Image 4Image 5Image 6
Ingredients
For the fish pie
- 600g of any firm white fish – we use cod or haddock fillets
- 200g of smoked haddock
- 750ml milk
- 1 medium onion, roughly chopped
- 1 large carrot, roughly chopped
- 1 stalk celery, roughly chopped
- 1 bay leaf
- some fresh parsley, chopped
- a few peppercorns
- 400g mature cheddar, grated
- 1kg floury potatoes, such as Maris Piper
- 125g butter, plus extra to grease the dish and dot on top of the pie
- 75g plain flour
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the mushy peas
- 250g of marrowfat peas
- Bicarbonate of soda tablets
- 11/2 pints of boiling water – and more fresh water to cook
- Sugar, butter, salt and pepper (to taste)
Remember! If you want to make mushy peas they need to be left to soak for between 12 and 16 hours – so you’ll need to do this the night before you plan to eat.
Method
For the fish pie
- Place the fillets of fish in a medium saucepan. Add the milk, onion, carrot, celery, bay leaf, a couple of stalks of parsley and the peppercorns.
- Place the pan on a low heat and let the milk heat up gently. As soon as it comes to a simmer, switch off the heat and cover the pan. The fish will continue cooking in the hot milk. This is my favourite way for cooking fish – it keeps the flesh plump and moist, and doesn’t add or detract from the flavour.
- Peel the potatoes, cut them into even, bite-sized chunks so that they cook evenly, and put them in a large pan with just enough water to cover and put the pan on the hob over a high heat. Add a teaspoon of salt and let the water come to the boil. Lower the heat to a simmer and cook the potatoes until a fork will pass easily through the flesh, but not so much that they disintegrate in the water.
- Carefully drain the potatoes and allow them to cool in a colander for a minute or two. Return them to the pan and mash them, adding 50g of the butter, using a spoon to mix the creamed potato at the end until you have a golden, smooth consistency. Put the mash to one side.
- Stand a sieve over a large jug and tip in the fish and milk mixture.
- Take your oven dish and break the cooked fish fillets into it – not too much though – you ideally want nice chunks of meaty fish in your pie.
- Heat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6.
- To make the béchamel sauce, put the remaining 75g of butter in the clean pan and melt it over a low to medium heat. Add the flour and stir well with a wooden spoon to make a roux. Cook for two minutes, stirring every few seconds. Then gently whisk in one third of the hot fishy milk. The paste will quickly turn into a very thick sauce. Add another third of the milk, whisking all the time, and then the final third, so you end up with a creamy sauce.
- Add the chopped parsley and after tasting the sauce you can season the béchamel with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
- Reduce the heat until it is very low and let the sauce simmer gently for a couple of minutes.
- Pour your creamy, fishy bechamel sauce over your fish.
- Spoon over the mash and spread it carefully across the surface of the fish sauce.
- Sprinkle the grated mature cheddar over the top of the creamed potatoes, making sure that the surface is covered evenly.
- Place the pie in the oven and bake for about 25 minutes or until the top is starting to brown and the fishy sauce is bubbling up the sides of the mash.
For the mushy peas
- Dissolve the bicarbonate tablets (they usually come in a box) in one and a half pints of boiling water.
- Pour the solution over the dried peas.
- Leave to soak overnight, or for at least 12 to 16 hours.
- Drain the peas, then put them in a saucepan and just cover them with cold, fresh water.
- Bring to the boil, then simmer for 20 to 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Once the water has reduced and the peas have become mushy add salt, pepper, sugar, and butter to taste.
To accompany the dish
Fish pie is a rustic dish and deserves a glass of something equally tasty and uncomplicated. Rather than white wine, what about a glass of chilled lager? The slightly bitter Budweiser Budvar would be perfect – light and crisp, with a buttery flavour common the Czech beer, and with plenty of hops on the nose.
Enjoy.
Tags: recipe, Recipes, seafood
Categories: English Food > Featured Post > Recipes > Seafood
