FishPescatarian

Ben Ebbrell: Ben’s First Fish Pie

Prep Time: 30 mins
Cooking Time: 95 mins
4 people

Used in this recipe

Ingredients

1kg white potatoes (Maris P.)
4 medium eggs
1 onion
1 large carrot
2 sticks of celery
2 tbsp olive oil
2 cloves of garlic
2 bay leaves
1 tbsp plain flour
300ml veg stock
150ml double cream
1 lemon
2 tbsp wholegrain mustard
bunch of fresh parsley
250g fresh spinach
250g smoked haddock fi llets
250g cod or hake fi llets
handful of frozen prawns, defrosted
100g salted butter
50g Grana Padano

Method

Peel and quarter the potatoes and submerge in cold, salted water. Heat to a boil and simmer for 20 minutes.
Heat a second pan of salted water to the boil. Submerge the eggs into the pan and boil for 6 minutes (if eggs at room temperature) before scooping them out and cooling them quickly in cold running water or a bowl of iced water.
Peel and finely dice the onion, carrot, celery and garlic. Sweat the onion, carrot and celery in a large saucepan with the oil and bay leaves, using a lid to trap in the steam, for about 10 minutes until soft and sweet.
Add the garlic for about a minute of frying.
Scatter over the flour and stir well for a minute, making sure it doesn’t catch on the bottom of the pan, then add the stock in two batches, stirring well to combine the first, before adding the second.
Glug the cream into the sauce and stir in the mustard, zest of the lemon, chopped parsley and spinach.
Heat until the cream is just boiling and the spinach has wilted, then season to taste with salt and pepper.
Preheat an oven to 220℃.
Peel the eggs and quarter them.
De-skin and remove any bones from the fish fillets, then roughly chop.
Pour the cream mixture over the top of the eggs and fi sh in an ovenproof dish.
Drain the potatoes and mash with the 100g of butter. Season to taste. Spoon or blob onto the fi sh layer, spread roughly even, then grate over the Grana Padano and bake for 20 minutes to get a golden brown top and so the fish mixture is bubbling.
Serve with freshly steamed or boiled veg of choice.

Top Tips

Serve with glass of white wine... something zippy like an Albarino or Gruner Veltliner.
Make the most of flavour bombs... Mustard, Smoked Fish and plenty of dairy fat.
Can be made well ahead of time... and simply heated through the oven for dinner time.
Pick a floury potato... like a Maris Piper to make the best mash and absorb the butter.

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

From £6.99

Filippo Berio Extra Virgin Olive Oil has a distinctive, rich and fruity flavour that beautifully complements fresh ingredients. Perfect for sauces, marinades, drizzling and dipping, it’s a versatile addition to everyday cooking.