This fish pie recipe comes from me watching my mum make it when I stayed at home as a teenager! One of the first things she taught me was to make a roux for cheese sauce…I loved her macaroni cheese as well as her fish pie.
I’ve looked at loads of recipes for fish pie over the years and have seen herbs, vegetables and sometimes boiled egg added to the sauce. Sometimes it’s more of a white sauce than a cheese sauce and I’ve also seen variations on toppings. This recipe has to be the favourite in our house…always a smoked fish within the fish selection, a really cheesy sauce and plain mashed potatoes with grated cheese on top. A comforting dish for when the weather’s cold outside!
Tips
- Mashed potatoes – I start off by peeling the potatoes for the mash and then get them on to boil. They were drained and ready for mashing as the sauce was being made, so just turn the heat on the sauce down to the lowest setting while you mash the potatoes, then set them aside. You can then return to making the sauce.
- Cheese selection – you can use any cheese(s) that you like for making the sauce…I like to use an extra mature cheddar to get a really cheesy taste and because you’re using the milk that the fish was cooked in to make the sauce, it’s already seasoned meaning not a lot of salt is needed to be added at the end.
- Fish selection – I would normally choose a white fish, a smoked fish, salmon and/or prawns, however, when I was making the pie that’s in the picture my youngest step son was also having some and as he doesn’t like salmon or prawns I chose:
- 520g cod loin
- 240g basa fillets
- 230g smoked basa fillets
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Ingredients
- 900g mashed potatoes – see Tips
- 600ml milk
- 75g butter
- 55g plain flour
- 990g fish of your choice (try a mix of skinless firm white fish, smoked fish, salmon, prawns) – see Tips
- 275g extra mature cheddar, grated – see Tips
- salt, to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200C/180C fan/Gas 6. Put a baking tray in the oven to heat.
- Make the mashed potatoes and set aside – see Tips.
- While the potatoes are boiling you can get on with cooking the fish and making the cheese sauce – to cook the fish, heat a large lidded saucepan on a medium to high heat and add the milk and fish. As soon as the milk shows signs of coming to the boil, reduce the heat so that it’s simmering. Cover with the lid and cook for 5 minutes. Remove the fish from the milk and set aside on a plate to cool. Pour the milk into a jug for using in the cheese sauce.
- Now make the cheese sauce – melt the butter in the same pan used to cook the fish over a low heat. Stir in the flour as soon as the butter has melted. Cook for 30 seconds, stirring constantly.
- Slowly pour the milk into the pan, just a little at a time, stirring well until the sauce is smooth and thickened slightly. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook for 3 minutes. Add 200g of the grated cheese and stir until all melted. Season with salt, to taste, and remove from the heat.
- Flake the cooled fish into large chunks and spread evenly in the pie dish (my pie dish is 29cm x 23cm), then pour over the cheese sauce and mix gently to combine. Set aside for around 5 minutes for the sauce to cool slightly.
- Top the fish and cheese sauce with the mashed potatoes and scatter over the remaining 75g of grated cheese.
- Bake on the preheated tray in the centre of the oven for 25 minutes, turning half way until the potatoes are golden brown all over.
- Enjoy with some green veg on the side!
Fish Pie
Ingredients
- 900g mashed potatoes – see Notes
- 600ml milk
- 75g butter
- 55g plain flour
- 990g fish of your choice try a mix of skinless firm white fish, smoked fish, salmon, prawns – see Notes
- 275g extra mature cheddar grated – see Notes
- salt to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200C/180C fan/Gas 6. Put a baking tray in the oven to heat.
- Make the mashed potatoes and set aside – see Notes.
- While the potatoes are boiling you can get on with cooking the fish and making the cheese sauce – to cook the fish, heat a large lidded saucepan on a medium to high heat and add the milk and fish. As soon as the milk shows signs of coming to the boil, reduce the heat so that it’s simmering. Cover with the lid and cook for 5 minutes. Remove the fish from the milk and set aside on a plate to cool. Pour the milk into a jug for using in the cheese sauce.
- Now make the cheese sauce - melt the butter in the same pan used to cook the fish over a low heat. Stir in the flour as soon as the butter has melted. Cook for 30 seconds, stirring constantly.
- Slowly pour the milk into the pan, just a little at a time, stirring well until the sauce is smooth and thickened slightly. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook for 3 minutes. Add 200g of the grated cheese and stir until all melted. Season with salt, to taste, and remove from the heat.
- Flake the cooled fish into large chunks and spread evenly in the pie dish (my pie dish is 29cm x 23cm), then pour over the cheese sauce and mix gently to combine. Set aside for around 5 minutes for the sauce to cool slightly.
- Top the fish and cheese sauce with the mashed potatoes and scatter over the remaining 75g of grated cheese.
- Bake on the preheated tray in the centre of the oven for 25 minutes, turning half way until the potatoes are golden brown all over.
- Enjoy with some green veg on the side!
Notes
- Mashed potatoes - I start off by peeling the potatoes for the mash and then get them on to boil. They were drained and ready for mashing as the sauce was being made, so just turn the heat on the sauce down to the lowest setting while you mash the potatoes, then set them aside. You can then return to making the sauce.
- Cheese selection - you can use any cheese(s) that you like for making the sauce...I like to use a strong cheddar to get a really cheesy taste and because you're using the milk that the fish was cooked in to make the sauce, it's already seasoned meaning not a lot of salt is needed to be added at the end.
- Fish selection - I would normally choose a white fish, a smoked fish, salmon and/or prawns, however, when I was making the pie that's in the picture my youngest step son was also having some and as he doesn't like salmon or prawns I chose:
- 520g cod loin
- 240g basa fillets
- 230g smoked basa fillets
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