Classic Fish Pie Recipe (2024)

For the mash topping

• ▢ 1 kg potatoes
• ▢ 20 g butter
• ▢ Splash of milk

For the filling

• ▢ 20 g butter
• ▢ 1 onion finely chopped
• ▢ 1 garlic clove finely chopped
• ▢ 30 g plain flour
• ▢ 400 ml semi skimmed milk
• ▢ 50 g cheddar cheese
• ▢ 280 g cod cut into bite size chunks
• ▢ 140 g smoked haddock cut into bite size chunks
• ▢ 140 g salmon cut into bite size chunks
• ▢ 50 g baby spinach leaves

• Peel the potatoes and roughly chop into cubes. Add to a large pan, cover with water and cook on medium heat for around 40 minutes or until soft. Preheat the oven to 180°C.

• Meanwhile, take a medium pan and cook the onions and garlic in butter until soft.

• Add the flour and stir in, the mixture should clump slightly and turn to a paste.

• On low-medium heat, add around ⅕ of the milk to the onions and flour, stirring continuously until the mixture starts to thicken. See tip below.

• As the mixture thickens add another helping of milk. Heat and stir until it thickens again and then continue until all the milk has been added.

• Next take the sauce off the heat and stir in the cheese.

• Add the chopped, raw fish to the cheese sauce and mix in carefully.

• Add the spinach leaves and stir in.

• Transfer the fish pie mix to an ovenproof dish

• Drain the cooked potatoes, add the milk and butter and mash. Spoon the mash potato over the top of the fish pie mix then use the back of a spoon to spread evenly to the edges of the dish.

• Use a fork to mark and ruffle up the surface of the mash potato.

• Place in the centre of a preheated oven and bake for 30 minutes. Serve with a scattering of freshly chopped parsley leaves.

Sauce tip: When making the fish pie sauce try to keep the heat on medium-low. Heating too quickly can curdle the mixture. If the mixture does start to curdle remove from the heat momentarily and stir rapidly.

Recipe suggestion: If you're after an extra indulgent twist, dot the mash with extra butter and grate over extra cheese before baking in the oven.

Can you make this recipe ahead of time? Make this recipe up to just before the pie goes into the oven. At this point the pie can be covered and stored in the fridge or freezer until you are ready to cook it. Note: If you intend to freeze the uncooked pie make sure the fish is as fresh as possible and suitable for freezing. When you are ready to cook, remove from the fridge and leave on the side for a hour or so to bring to room temperature. Or defrost overnight. Then cook in the oven as per the recipe instructions.

What if my fish has skin on? If you choose to buy whole fillets of fish for this recipe then you may find that your fillets have skin on. Skinning a fish is quite easy if you use the right method and knife. The best knife to use is a sharp, flexible fish knife. Place the fish on a board skin side down. To remove the skin use the knife with the blade facing away from you. slightly peel back the skin from one corner, then place the blade between the fish and its skin and hold onto the skin with your other hand. Keep the skin and the side of the blade flat to the board and work along the fillet with the knife. Press the side off the blade downwards into the board as well as moving it across.

Can you freeze leftover fish pie? Make sure the fish pie is fully cooled then transfer to a sealed container and freeze for up to 3 months. To reheat simply remove the fish pie from the freezer and completely defrost before cooking in the oven for 30 minutes at 180 degrees C. You should cover the pie with foil to prevent the top from crisping up too much as you are cooking it a second time. Remove the foil for the last 5 minutes to finish, check the pie is hot throughout and enjoy.