Fisherman's Pie

This dish was one of the things which I used to buy as a TV dinner (normally when I've had a hangover for some reason) and have never quite had a the right kind of shallow dish to prepare it in for myself. However, when my friends, Anna and Jose, left to go back to Spain, they gave me the perfect stoneware dish to make something like this, and it was about time I made good use of it.

My local Sainsbury's once again let me down on the ingredients front, as it does nearly every time I go there. The selection of fish to choose from was pretty useless, with not a single piece of smoked haddock, which is what I really wanted for this recipe. So, I had to go with some Cod and a couple of 'Crayfish Medleys' (pre-cooked Crayfish, Mussels and Prawns). Not what I necessarily wanted to put in it, but still worked pretty well.

Recipe for Fisherman's Pie (serves 4)

• 450g Cod Fillet
• 440g Cooked Crayfish, Mussel and Prawn Mixture
• 1 kilo Potatoes (Maris Pipers, in my case)
• 2 Carrots, chopped
• 2 sticks of Celery, chopped
• 1 cup Fresh Peas
• 1-2 teaspoons Ground Black Pepper
• 1 handful Fresh Parsley (fined chopped)
• 1 Bay Leaf
• 40g Butter
• 1.5 tablespoons Plain Flour
• 1.5 pints of Milk

Put the carrot, celery and whole cod pieces into a pan, cover with milk and add a couple of stems of parsley, black pepper and bay leaf. Heat gently until the milk starts to simmer, then turn off the heat and leave for about 15 minutes to steam. Pour into a colander, reserving the now seasoned milk.

Peel the potatoes and cut into small cubes so that they cook fairly quickly. Boil in water with a little salt, drain in a colander, then mash, using a little of the milk from the fish and a little of the butter.

Remove the skin from the fish, then put into a greased, shallow, baking dish, along with the carrot, celery, peas and other cooked seafood.

Next make a roux using the remaining butter, flour and the seasoned milk from cooking the fish. Add a little more milk if sauce becomes too think. Add the chopped parsley, then check the seasoning of the sauce and add more salt and pepper if necessary. Then pour the sauce over the fish and vegetables, cover with the mashed potatoes and put in an oven, preheated to 200 degrees Celsius for 20-30 minutes, until the potato is golden on top. Some people decorate the top beforehand with a fork, but I just added a little grated cheddar on the top.

Even though it seems extremely late in the season for purple sprouting broccoli, my local Sainsbury's, for the first time this year, actually had some, albeit from Jersey, so this is what I decided to serve with it.

Caroline and Gabriel seemed to really enjoy it. It's actually very refreshing to see a 6 year old not question what's put in front on him and just eat it all, and Gabriel certainly did that and went as far as to say that it was really nice. I wonder what else I can get him to eat? It was quite filling though, and so it looks like I'll be having more for breakfast tomorrow, although if Dave was here, he'd probably say that it only served 3 and I doubt there would be any leftovers.