fish pie - merged threads

Bunny200

Was it this one? The second recipe down, I was checking them out myself this morning!

trying-very-trying

I thought the sainsbury's one would be the same as Jo's Fish pie http://www.channel4.com/food/recipes/chefs/jamie-oliver/fish-pie-recipe_p_1.html
I've done JO's pie, and it was very good. He uses salmon, but I used half salmon and half coley, then I added the smoked fish and tiger prawns. All fish had been defrosted from frozen. I also put some sweetcorn in 'cause I like it.
There is no sauce to make.

EssexHebridean

Nothing to be worried about with white (Bechamel) sauce. Nothing complicated either - the basic sauce is three ingredients plus seasoning. Stick a lump of butter in a pan over a gentle heat to melt. Add flour, stirring and adding more flour until it reaches a very thick paste. This ideally needs to be gently cooked for a few minutes. Add a tiny splash of milk, and stir in frantically. The paste will - bizarrely - go slightly thicker. Add another splash of milk and repeat. Eventually as you gradually add milk the sauce will start to form a better consistency. The key thing is to really work each splash of milk in before adding the rest - it's adding too much milk at one go that makes lumps form. Also many people feel that letting the milk warm through before you start to stir in helps. When the sauce reaches the consistency that you want stop adding milk (Doh!) and cook gently without boiling for five minutes or so until the "floury" taste has gone. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Voila, white sauce! You can also make it with stock in place of milk (Technically a "Sauce veloute") - for fish pie this is wonderful with fish stock. You can of course also add cheese. It's a technique well worth mastering as these sorts of sauces form the basis of so many dishes.

LJM

is it not on the sainsburys website in recipe section

LJM

http://www.sainsburys.co.uk/food/foodandfeatures/sainsburys_food_ranges/basics/why_buy_basics/crispy_fish_pie.htm?prevUrl=%2fsearch.htm%3fquery%3dfish%2bpie%2brecipe%26x%3d0%26y%3d0


is it this one

Stephen_Leak

Try this. Obviously, use salmon and ignore the bit about making the sauce and go to the A&A section.

FISH PIE

Serves 2

INGREDIENTS

375g of old potatoes*
1 onion
250ml of water
¼ of a teaspoon of salt
250ml of milk
350g of white fish**
2 tablespoons of butter
3 tablespoons of flour
½ a tablespoon of parsley
Salt and ground pepper to taste
½ a tablespoon of butter
½ a tablespoon of milk
Ground pepper to taste

METHOD

Peel the potatoes and chop them into quarters. Peel the onion and chop it into tiny pieces.

Put the water and salt into a saucepan on a medium heat. Add the potatoes. Bring to the boil, then turn down the heat until it is just boiling (simmering). Put the lid on the saucepan and cook for 20 to 25 minutes until soft. Check the water level from time to time and top up if it starts to dry out.

While the potatoes are cooking, put the 250ml of milk, fish and onion into a frying pan on a medium heat. Cook for about 10 minutes until the fish is firm and opaque.

Strain the milk through a sieve or colander into a bowl. Put the fish and onion onto a plate. Break the fish into small pieces. Throw away the skin and bones.

Drain the potatoes and mash with the ½ a tablespoon of butter and the ½ a tablespoon of milk until it is smooth and lump free. Season with the pepper.

Put the 2 tablespoons of butter into the saucepan the fish was cooked in on a medium heat. Melt the butter. Add the flour and cook for a minute, stirring all the time. Take off the heat. Add the milk the fish was cooked in a bit at a time. Stir each time to make sure it is smooth. When all the milk has been added, put the pan back on the heat. Bring to the boil. Keep stirring. Turn down the heat until it is just boiling (simmering). Cook for 2 minutes, stirring all the time.

Add the fish, onions and parsley and stir. Season with the pepper.

Put the fish mixture into an ovenproof dish. Level off the surface. Put the mashed potato on top. Spread to cover the fish mixture. Make artistic swirls in the mashed potato. This increases the surface area and makes the top crisper.

Cook in a preheated oven at 200°C, 400°F, gas mark 6 for about 30 minutes until golden on top.

ADDITIONS & ALTERNATIVES

Use a packet of white or parsley sauce mix according to the instructions on the packet, but substitute some of the liquid for the milk the fish was cooked in.

Use 100g of cooked prawns instead of 100g of the fish and add them to the fish mixture when you assemble the pie. Add a chopped hard-boiled egg to the fish mixture when you assemble the pie.

Sprinkle 50g of grated Cheddar cheese on top of the potato, or even into it as it being mashed.

TIPS

The trick with the sauce is to keep stirring.

* New potatoes make rubbish mashed potato. Use old ones like King Edward’s or Desiree Reds.

** Use cod, coley, haddock, hake, ling, plaice, pollack or whiting fillets. Use smoked and/or dyed fish, because smoked fish tastes nice and dyed fish looks pretty.

in-it-to-win-it_4

I've dug all the frozen fish out of the freezer and I reckon I have enough if I bulk it out with leeks and broc to make two fish pies. But I have a couple fo questions....

1) How do I make the sauce?

2) Do I need to cook the fish before adding it to the dish for the oven??? I have cod, haddock fillets, salmon fillets, smoked haddock and king prawns.

Thanks in advance...

juliapenguin

Love your signature!

Have you got any white wine? If so, I'd make a white sauce (butter, flour, milk) but leave out some of the milk and use wine instead. Sorry, not got quanitities handy, but someone else will no doubt help! I love cheese sauce with anything.

I think you should be careful about pre-cooking the fish, if you are planning to freeze one of the cooked pies - you can only reheat food once, so bear that in mind. Also, you don't want to overcook it.

miss*whisper

I make a sauce with cornflour & milk. You can make a roux (melt butter/marg add flour andwhisk in milk)

The recipe I use says to poach the fish with onions for 8 mins in milk (bring to boil then simmer for the 8 mins) Depending on whether your prawns are cooked or not - if already cooked they won't need the same amount of cooking


Then flake the fish in a dish, add the onions, 1 egg (quartered) per person and cover with sauce, mashed potato (cheese optional) bake for 30 mins @ gas 5/190 degrees

HTH

Pink.

Hi in-it-to-win-it,

I normally poach the fish in some milk, then remove the fish and use the milk to make a bechamel sauce Sometimes I add cheese to the sauce. Then mix the fish with the sauce, add peas, quartered hard boiled eggs and top with mashed potatoes.

There's an earlier thread with lots of variations on making fish pie that may help:

fish pie - merged threads

Pink