Fish pie always seems like nursery comfort food, which is odd because it's not something I ever remember eating as a child. Not for school dinners, and definitely not at home. Nevertheless, it became a favourite after I started eating fish. The recipe has evolved over the years and sometimes varies, but I tend to do it like this: Sauté a little onion and celery in butter, add a dash of white wine or vermouth and let boil away. Put chunks of raw fish in the dish (this time it was haddock), then stir in the onion mixture, a good glug of cream, some chopped parsley and some grated cheese (not much, just enough for a subtle flavour). Top with mashed potato. The usual way with mashed potato toppings is to make the mash very squishy and buttery, and smooth it over in a homogenous, fork-fluffed seal. Or even, god forbid, to pipe it on with an icing bag in decorative little blobs and rows. I prefer to make the mash dry - no butter, for once - and rather than smoothing it on, drop it in bits and pieces. That way, you don't get a uniform seal, so excess moisture can evaporate as it bakes, and you get a crunchier, craggier top surface. I do shepherd's pie like that, too.
I tried a slightly new variant with the veg - I added a wedge of lemon and some chicken stock while they were cooking. Part of the ongoing bone broth campaign. It worked pretty well.
Fish pie always seems like nursery comfort food, which is odd because it's not something I ever remember eating as a child. Not for school dinners, and definitely not at home. Nevertheless, it became a favourite after I started eating fish. The recipe has evolved over the years and sometimes varies, but I tend to do it like this: Sauté a little onion and celery in butter, add a dash of white wine or vermouth and let boil away. Put chunks of raw fish in the dish (this time it was haddock), then stir in the onion mixture, a good glug of cream, some chopped parsley and some grated cheese (not much, just enough for a subtle flavour). Top with mashed potato. The usual way with mashed potato toppings is to make the mash very squishy and buttery, and smooth it over in a homogenous, fork-fluffed seal. Or even, god forbid, to pipe it on with an icing bag in decorative little blobs and rows. I prefer to make the mash dry - no butter, for once - and rather than smoothing it on, drop it in bits and pieces. That way, you don't get a uniform seal, so excess moisture can evaporate as it bakes, and you get a crunchier, craggier top surface. I do shepherd's pie like that, too.
I tried a slightly new variant with the veg - I added a wedge of lemon and some chicken stock while they were cooking. Part of the ongoing bone broth campaign. It worked pretty well.
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