Fish pie

My mum used to play a pretty good trick on me when I was a kid with fish pie, which i use still to this day in my very own version – a mix of breaded and white fish. I never liked fish beyond fish fingers, so getting me to eat something fishy was a nightmare for mum. This fish dish is simple, delicious and Sam usually brings it in for lunch at work, so plenty left over, if he hasn’t already gulped it down. It’s quick and easy to make too, and you can make it up to 10 hours in advance, if you prepare it, stick it in the fridge to chill, set it aside for 10 minutes before popping it in the oven.

Total time: 1 hour and 30 minutes

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

• 250g white fish (cod, plaice, basa fillets, haddock)
• 2 breaded fish fillets
• 600ml milk
• 8-10 small potatoes or 4-6 large potatoes
• Pinch of salt
• 50g butter
• Punch of dried parsley
• 1 and 1/2 tablespoons of plain flour
• 100g grated cheese

Method:

• Prep: 40 mins
• Cook: 40 mins
• Extra time: 10 mins cooling

Preheat the oven to 200 C / Fan 180 C / Gas Mark 5. Place the white fish mix in an oven-proof dish with the milk poured over. Also put the 2 breaded fish fillets onto a baking tray and cook all together for 30 minutes or until the white fish mix is cooked through and the breaded fish is crispy.

Peel and chop the potatoes, and boil in water with a punch of salt.

When the white fish mix is cooked, drain leaving the milk to one side in a jug. Chop up the breaded fish, flake the white fish mix with a fork and put altogether in an oven p-proof dish.

Once potatoes are done, drain, then add 30g of butter, with a little of the leftover milk and mash together.

In another saucepan, melt the remaining 20g of butter on a medium heat and slowly add the flour, stirring constantly until you get a smooth paste. Add a little dried parsley and add all the milk until you get a sauce-like consistency.

Add the sauce to the fish in the dish and mix well. I added chopped cooked carrots to the mix too, you can add peas if you want or stick to just fish in the pie if you prefer. Top with the mashed potato, sprinkle the cheese on top and put in the oven for 30-40 minutes, or until the cheese is slightly golden and bubbling.

Take out of the oven, leave to cool up to 10 minutes and serve with steamed vegetables.

Enjoy!