When you want to make something like Fish Pie, there’s really only one person you go to, to find a recipe and that person is Jamie Oliver. I consult Jamie’s books quite often as I love his laid-back approach to food and the fact that he likes chillies, garlic and lemon as much as I do. I also love that he’s a big promoter of British cuisine and as it’s a cuisine that goes a bit unnoticed, I thought I’d give something proper British a try.
When I received his new book, Save with Jamie, I was delighted. I love all his money-saving tricks and tips and the fact that he makes expensive ingredients stretch over a few meals. This fish pie is one of those meals. Jamie advocates using frozen fish because as he says, why use beautiful fresh fish when you’re going to be using it in something like a pie? I differed from Jamie’s recipe slightly and used frozen hake and frozen haddock as I found the frozen salmon a little expensive. I also used prawns as I think they are necessary to add some texture. Jamie uses frozen spinach in his pie but I omitted this. I really loved that Jamie mixed pea puree with the mash for the topping. Not only did it add sweetness to the pie but it also tinted the mashed potatoes a beautiful minty green which looked so beautiful with the coral of the haddock and the prawns. For Jamie’s original recipe, visit his website.
Ingredients
for the mashed potato topping
- 1 kg potatoes peeled and chopped into large chunks
- 400 g frozen peas
- 2 tablespoons butter
- zest of 1 lemon
- salt & pepper to taste
for the fish pie filling
- 500 ml 2 cups milk
- 1 bay leaf
- 200 g frozen hake fillets
- 200 g frozen smoked haddock fillets
- 200 g frozen shelled prawns
- 2 onions finely chopped
- 2 carrots finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves finely chopped
- 3 tablespoons flour
- 1 heaped teaspoon English mustard
- 40 g 1/2 cup mature cheddar, grated
- juice of 1 lemon
- salt & pepper to taste
- 2 onions finely chopped
- 2 carrots finely chopped
Instructions
- Place the potatoes in a large pot of boiling water or in a steamer and cook until soft.
- Pour boiling water over the peas to de-frost them then blend in a food processor.
- Mash the potatoes then mix in peas, butter and lemon zest. Season to taste.
- Pre-heat the oven to 200°c.
- To make the fish pie, poach the fish in the milk with the bay leaf. When the fish is cooked, remove the fish and flake into large chunks. Reserve the milk.
- In a large, oven-proof frying pan fry the onion and carrot in a splash of olive oil until soft and fragrant. Add the garlic and fry for another 30 seconds.
- Add the flour and stir then add the milk the fish was poached to create a creamy sauce.
- Add the English mustard and fish and stir well then add the cheese and lemon juice and stir.
- Season to taste.
- Top the fish filling with the mashed potato and create indents with a spoon which will become nice and crispy in the oven.
- Place the pie in the oven and allow to bake for 30-40 minutes until the top is golden brown and crispy.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes then serve.
Love this recipe. I have one in the oven right now. Made it many times before. Today I used Ling as well as prawns. Yum.
We’ve made this for the last three years on Christmas eve and every year it’s a hit!! Will definitely be keeping this new tradition xxx
I will admit I used to feel queasy at the thought of fish pie. That is until my sister-in-law served Jamie’s fish pie. I put frozen peas in the fish mixture instead of incorporating them in the potato mash. Also added cooked frozen shrimp. Forgot to add the cheese so I just sprinkled it on top of the mashed potatoes 10 minutes before the bake was complete. My family of four declared it delicious. Looking forward to leftovers tonight
I know I could freeze leftovers after the pie is baked, but would it be possible to assemble and freeze, then bake from frozen?
I’m not sure if the potato topping will freeze well and it might be very watery after being frozen. However, I haven’t tested it this way yet so it could work completely fine.
I have just made this pie and it is so delicious. I used smoked Haddock & Cod. On the top I used sweet potato & the peas and I put Kale in with the fish. This beats my mums fish pie & she is not happy!!
Oh wow! High praise indeed. Love the addition of kale and sweet potatoes!
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looks so tasty! Can i stream the potatoes instead of boiling them? I see that boiling potatoes removes its natural flavor.
You definitely can!
Would have been great was it not for the overpowering lemon taste.
Next time I will leave out the lemon zest and just add a little lemon juice to the pie mix.
Jamie is known for his abundant use of ingredients like lemon and chilli. That’s the beauty of cooking, we can adjust recipes to suit our palates.
Just found this recipe; would heartily recommend it! Tried it on my Gran for a slightly different Sunday dinner. She loved it (and so did I) adding the peas to the mashed spuds was a genius idea and tasty too.
Definitely a keeper; one that i will make again (and again)!
So glad you and your gran liked it. Jamie’s ideas are always stellar!
We love fish pie , I used smoked haddock , trout and basa fish , I made a cheese sauce with the milk I poached the fish in and for the topping mashed potatoes sprinkled with grated cheese and crushed cheese and onion crisps this gives it a lovely crunchier topping , enough for our tea and one for freezing , yum yum
Yum! Glad you liked it Lottie.
Thanks so much for the recipe.It was delicious. I used smoked salmon, prawns, cod and halibut. Oh so good. Love you Jamie. You are the best!
Larry
Glad you liked it!
Oh this is delicious! Loved it!
So glad you liked it Martha!
Oh my! this was yummy. Used potatoe and leek topping and used flounder, cod and prawns to make up the fish part but the sauce was absolutely scrummy AND we have enough to freeze!!
Yes, this freezes beautifully. So glad you liked it Jackie.
This was delicious!
So glad you liked it Nick.
Had a go at making the pie tonight. I used Jewfish I had caught in the Gulf of Carpentaria, Far North Queensland. Made a minor change leaving out the spinach and putting sliced avocado across the top prior to putting the mash on. It was sensational 🙂
what could I use besides hake and haddock? I live in NorCal and we have different fish here like halibut, cod, etc.
Carole, you could use any smoked fish instead of the haddock. You could also use salmon, trout, monkfish, etc. Try to firm, sustainable fish in this pie.
Thanks Alida, will do. This reminds me of a fish pie my Finnish mom used to make, called “lox-lova.”
This sounds amazing, I want to make it tonight. I love Jamie, and I’m a real New England fish pie lover as well. The green color is beautiful, too!
I’m sure you’ll love this pie! It’s incredibly delicious!
This looks like a great recipe, I like the idea of combining the potatoes with the peas for the topping.
It is so absolutely delicious!