We all comfort food! For me a fish pie, shepherds pie, cottage pie and homemade lasagna fall into this category. Also, they bring fond food memories back of my childhood and my mums cooking.

Over the years I’ve made many different versions of fish pies but for me this was the best. So many layers of a flavours it was difficult to know when to stop.

This recipe was taken from the new cook book from the ‘king of the sea’ – Rick Stein.

I recently picked up Rick’s new book at his organised book signing in Lichfield. Having read the book cover to cover I’ve cooked several dishes from this book already and they have given me additional inspiration.

Anyone who knows me will already know Rick is my food hero and has been since the 90’s as the Tv series ‘Fruits of the sea’. Not only did the series open me up to fish cooking but reaffirmed my love for Cornwall. This book will sit nicely in my ‘Stein’ collection.

Ingredients-

1 onion thickly sliced

2 cloves

1 bay leaf

600ml full fat milk

300ml double cream

450g unskinned cod fillets

225g smoked haddock fillets

4 eggs

100g butter

45g plain flour

Handful of chopped curly parsley

Freshly grated nutmeg

1 kilo of floury potatoes such are Maris Pipers

1 egg yolk

Salt and pepper.

Method –

Stud a couple of the onion slices with the cloves. Put the onion slices in a large pan with the bay leaf, 450ml of the whole milk, cream along with the fish. Bring to the boil and simmer for 8 minutes.

Drain the fish keeping the cooking liquor saying it in a jug and set aside.

When the fish is cool enough flake it into an ovenproof dish.

Bring a pan of salted water to the boil. Add your potatoes and bring to a simmer. Cook into they are breaking down. Add your eggs to this water. Boil your eggs. Drain the water. To make you make add 50g of butter and the egg yolk along with 150ml of milk.

To make the sauce you need to make a roux and white sauce.

Melt the rest of the butter in a pan.

Once the butter has melted add in the flour.

Cook the flour for a minute on the heat.

Take the pan off the heat. Add in the reserved cooking liquor.

Put the pan back onto the heat. Stir well and cook the flour out for 10 minutes or so.

The sauce will naturally thicken. After the 10 minutes remove the pan from the heat. Add in the ground nutmeg……

Along with the chopped parsley………then mix well.

Peel the boiled eggs then cut into half’s. Place on top of the flaked fish.

Pour over the white sauce. Tap the ovenproof dish to ensure the sauce makes its way through the gaps in your flaked fish.

Place the mashed potato on top of the white sauce. I ran a fork across the top of the mash just to be ‘arty’ but that’s just me.

Place into a preheat oven at 180c fan. Cook in the over for 35 / 40 minutes. The crust due to the egg yolk will brown nicely.

This is just a fantastic ‘classic’ fish pie.

Heavenly ❤️.

Beautiful piece of cookery. Thank you Mr Stein for sharing this recipe!

Thank you for reading my ramblings.