Fish Pie For The First Time

I ain't nevah made a fish pie before, but when I spotted the 'Fish pie with colcannon topping' recipe in the November issue of Sainsbury's Magazine (aka my favourite non-fashion magazine) well, I knew I had to try it! Silly me, I only glanced at the recipe before heading to the shops to stock up on fish parts of all sorts and didn't notice the way-more-intense-than-anticipated details. Anyhoo, it turned out delicious and the leftovers tasted even better the next day at lunch time! If you're feeling ambitious and craving something fishy then I highly recommend trying out the following:

Fish Pie with Colcannon Topping (Sainsbury's Magazine November 2010)

Serves 8

1kg smoked haddock fillets

500g white fish filets

a couple of bay leaves

200ml vegetable stock

600ml skimmed milk

2 x 180g packs raw king prawns

200g cherry tomatoes, halved

50g butter

75g plain flour

100g mature cheddar, grated

For the colcannon

1kg maincrop potatoes cut into chunks

1 small savoy cabbage shredded

100ml skimmed milk

2 spring onions chopped

40g butter

1. preheat the overn to 180C, fan 160C, gas 4. Place the haddock and white fish fillets in a shallow roasting tray (or dish) with the bay leaves. Mix together the stock and milk and pour over the fish, cover with kitchen foil and bake for 20 minutes.

2.For the colcannon, simmer the potatoes in boiling salted water for 15 minutes or until tender; drain and return to the pan. Meanwhile, bring another pan of water to the boil and blanch the cabbage for a few minutes; drain and set aside. In the cabbage pan, heat the milk with the spring onions. Mash the potatoes with the butter, then mix this with the warm milk, spring onions and blanched cabbage; season well.

3. When the fish is ready, using a slice, transfer it to a large bowl and discard the bay leaves. Tip the fish cooking liquid into a jug. When the fish is cool, removed the skin and discard any bones. Break the fish into chunks and mix the prawns and tomatoes.

4. For the sauce, melt the butter in a pan, add the flour and stir over the heat for 1 minute. Take the pan off the heat and whisk in the fish cooking liquid, a little at a time. Return to the heat and simmer for 5 minutes until thickened. Take off the heat and stir in three quarters of the cheese. Mix with the fish prawns and tomatoes. Transfer to a large buttered ovenproof baking dish.

5. Top with the calcannon and scatter with the remaining cheese. Bake for 45-55 minutes or until bubbling and lightly golden.

Enjoy! x