Fish pie for friends - what could be simpler and more delicious? Just choose your recipe carefully, writes DOMINI KEMP
COOKING FOR A large get-together is rarely a simple task. Even something as basic as a bowl of soup can have all sorts of dire consequences for the wrong guest. A suggestion was recently made by a reader that I should do a good, but simple, recipe for a fish pie. “No problem,” I thought. Then I realised there were going to be lots of problems, even before I could settle on a good recipe.
I had promised to feed eight people, but each one had their own list of likes and dislikes, some of which were backed up by medical certificates. One bloke hates smoked fish, two others are allergic to shellfish, the coeliac said they would bring their own dinner, and someone else had recently become vegetarian. Nightmare. The only obliging guest was the child, who in an attempt to stave off boarding school discussions, will eat anything put on her plate.
I started to feel like a personal chef to a bunch of Hollywood stars rather than a gracious hostess, and seriously contemplated ordering pizza. Then there was the small matter of trying to settle on a good fish-pie recipe. There are plenty of versions, but visually I was hooked by a Nigel Slater recipe from his lovely book, Appetite.
It looked great in the picture: all blasé comfort food, very retro-recession, as it were. All in all, a perfect choice. Or so I thought.
The problem was, the name of his pie – “A big fish pie for friends” – was starting to worry me slightly. Slater wouldn’t put up with such a fussy bunch of friends, so it was no wonder his pie could be called something so warm and fuzzy. But I could hardly call my pie something similar when all my guests were becoming so hopelessly difficult to cook for. It was becoming more obvious by the minute that my pie would have to be called “A big fish pie for very annoying people”.
I started to read his intro, which I thought would gee me up and get me over the hump of pie-naming. But jeeze Louise! Halfway through his rant, he mentioned the fact that his pie was going to be a “brace yourself” kind of dish and would require copious amounts of scrubbing, poaching, sieving, mashing, chopping, skinning, not to mention mountains of washing up. Nigel! Stop! You’re killing me!
Anyway, I ignored all the recipes and endeavoured to make the simplest, most basic, laziest and tastiest fish pie in less than 30 minutes. And you know what? It was very manageable and super tasty. It fed eight people, the wash-up was minimal and everyone’s plate was clean. Serve with a big spoonful of buttery peas and enjoy.
Fish pie
I’m leaving it up to you to decide what fish or shellfish you want to use. I used smoked cod, haddock and salmon, none of which I poached, but all of which the fishmonger had already skinned.
You can use whatever you like in this recipe, it will make no odds. Scallops, prawns and mussels would all be delicious additions.
100g butter
150g flour
1 litre milk
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
One glass of white wine
1 massive bunch of parsley, roughly chopped
1.5kg spuds, peeled
Few knobs of butter
250g cheddar
1.5kg of skinned fish or prepared shellfish
Pre-heat an oven to 200 degrees/gas mark six. Melt the butter in a saucepan and add the flour to make a roux. Don’t let it burn, but do cook it over a gentle heat for at least three minutes to cook out the flour. It will look like dough. Gradually whisk in the milk.
Lumps will come and go, but a whisk sorts this out. Add the Dijon mustard, white wine and parsley. Check the seasoning – smoked fish will make it salty, but make sure your bechamel still has good flavour. Add your fish and mix well. The sauce will still be hot, so you’ll be able to mix the fish in very easily.
Chop the spuds into small chunks and put in a large saucepan of cold water. Bring up to the boil and cook until tender. Drain and put back in the pot with a tea-towel on top. This helps them to go light and fluffy when mashed. Add the butter, mash quickly and then mix in the cheese. Season very lightly.
Pour the fish mixture into a large gratin dish and top with a layer of spuds. Bake for about 45 minutes until the top is golden brown, then allow to settle for 10 minutes, and serve with peas on the side.
Borlotti hummus
This is adapted from Sarah Raven’s Garden Cookbook.
2 tins of borlotti beans, rinsed and drained
1 small tin of anchovies (optional)
2 cloves of garlic, peeled
zest and juice of two lemons
a few spoonfuls of plain yoghurt
a handful chopped coriander and parsley
a few glugs of olive oil
Put all the ingredients in a food processor and whiz until they are smooth. Taste and add more lemon juice if it is a bit flat-tasting, or yoghurt and olive oil if it is too strong. Season with salt and plenty of black pepper. Serve with toasted pieces of pitta bread, crudités or crackers.
BARLEY AND ROOT STEW
The timing of when to add the barley to this recipe in our January 31st issue was omitted from the method. It should be added with the water, so that it cooks for about an hour.