Fish Pie with Cheesy Mash
Crisp golden peaks giving way to a creamy, mustard-flecked fish sauce beneath, lifted by fresh parsley and a sharp squeeze of lemon at the table.
Ingredients
Serves 4- 300 gcod fillets, cut into chunks
- 200 gsmoked haddock, cut into pieces
- 150 gfrozen peas
- 1small onion, finely chopped
- 1medium leek, trimmed and sliced
- 35 gplain flour
- 900 gpotatoes, peeled and chopped
- sea salt and black pepper, to taste
- 500 mlmilk, divided
- 40 gunsalted butter
- 120 gcheddar, grated
- 1 tspDijon mustard (optional) (optional)
- 1 tbspflat-leaf parsley, chopped
- 1bay leaf
Method
- Preheat the oven to 200°C fan. Lay the cod and smoked haddock in a shallow pan with the bay leaf, pour over 200ml of the milk, cover and poach gently for 5–6 minutes until the fish is just flaky and opaque. Lift the fish out onto a plate and reserve the poaching milk; discard the bay.
- Meanwhile, put the potatoes in a large pan of salted water and bring to the boil. Simmer for 15–18 minutes until a knife slides through without resistance.
- While the mash cooks, melt the 40g butter in a wide pan over medium heat and sweat the onion and leek with a pinch of salt for 6–8 minutes until soft, sweet and translucent; don't let them colour. Stir in the flour and cook for a full minute to take the raw edge off the roux.
- Slowly whisk in the reserved poaching milk and the remaining 300ml milk, a splash at a time, until you have a smooth, glossy sauce. Simmer for 3–4 minutes, stirring, until thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Flake the fish into generous chunks and fold in with the peas, parsley and Dijon if using. Season carefully; the smoked haddock brings its own salt.
- Reserve a mugful of the potato cooking water, then drain the potatoes thoroughly and leave to steam-dry for a minute. Mash with most of the cheddar until smooth, loosening with a little reserved cooking water if needed. Taste and season.
- Tip the fish filling into an ovenproof dish, then dollop the mash over the top in spoonfuls and spread to the edges with a fork, leaving rough peaks to catch in the oven. Scatter over the remaining cheddar.
- Bake for 20–25 minutes until the top is deeply golden and the filling is bubbling visibly at the edges. Rest for 5 minutes so the pie firms up before serving.
Per serving
- kcal
- 641
- protein
- 42.2g
- fibre
- 8.9g
- carbs
- 63.7g
- fat
- 24.5g
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