Easy Fish Pie

4.93 from 14 votes

My Easy Fish Pie is a firm family favourite! Creamy, delicious & loved by kids & adults alike it's a proper comfort food classic. Great for batch cooking and freezer friendly this recipe will become your fish dinner staple.

Course Family Meal, Fish, Main Course

Cuisine British

Keyword comfort food, fish pie

Prep Time 45

Cook Time 30

Total Time 1 15

Servings generous servings

Calories 779kcal

Author Jo Allison

Equipment

Ingredients

Fish & white sauce

800 g fish (mix of pollock/cod/haddock/salmon) frozen fish is fine
handful of prawns (fresh or frozen) optional (see notes)
600 ml milk
1 small onion peeled & halved
1 celery stick chopped into large chunks
1 small carrot peeled and roughly chopped into large chunks
2 bay leaves
4 cloves
7 peppercorns
2 hard-boiled eggs optional (see recipe notes)
1 tablespoon fresh parsley or dill chopped
100 g frozen peas or sweetcorn or mixture
freshly grated nutmeg
50 g unsalted butter
50 g plain flour

Potato topping

1 kg potatoes
50 g unsalted butter
splash of milk
leftover white sauce for extra creaminess if you're left with some leftovers (optional)
50 g mature cheddar grated

Metric - US Customary

Instructions

Put your fish in a large, wide pan with a lid together with celery, carrot, onion (cut in half and each half studded with 2 cloves), bay leaves and peppercorns. Pour over the milk and place the pan on a gentle heat and bring it to a gentle boil (feel free to cover the pan to speed up the process but keep an eye on it). Uncover the pan and let the fish simmer gently in milk for approx. 5 min (longer if you are using frozen fillets). Take the fish off the heat and let it stand in the hot milk for 5-10 minutes to finish cooking.
As your fish is cooking prepare the potatoes by peeling them, cutting into chunks and boiling them in a pan of salted water until tender and ready to be mashed 15-20 min.
Take your poached fish out of the hot milk with slotted spoon and onto a dish you'll be using for a pie. Flake it gently into small pieces and set aside. Strain the milk you used to cook your fish in onto a jug discarding all the veg and aromatics.
In the same pan you poached fish in melt 50g unsalted butter, add the flour and let it cook in butter for a few seconds until it looks like a paste. Slowly add strained milk mixing gently with a whisk after each addition until you use up all the milk and the sauce thickens. Season with salt and pepper and few gratings of fresh nutmeg (to taste). Pour over the flaked fish. *Depending on the dish you are using you might have some sauce leftover which can be added to your mashed potato topping for extra creaminess.*
Add frozen peas or sweetcorn or mixture of both to the fish and the sauce and mix well. Sprinkle some fresh parsley or dill and place your boiled egg halves on top (if adding).
Drain potatoes and mash with 50g unsalted butter and a good splash of milk or some leftover white sauce (if any) for extra creaminess adjusting seasoning if needed. Top the pie with the mash making sure you spread it evenly, sealing neatly around the edges to prevent the filling bubbling over during baking. Sprinkle with some grated cheddar and bake in preheated oven at 180C/350F/Gas Mark 4 for approx 30 minutes (until golden and bubbly). Enjoy with some extra peas or other veg of your choice on the side!

Notes

Nutritional information is approximate, per serving and meant as a guideline only.
Poaching time will depend on the thickness of your fish. It's better to slightly undercook it rather than overcook it especially that it will still have a chance to cook in the oven.
You can use frozen fish without defrosting it but your poaching time will be slightly longer.
If adding prawns - You can use either fresh or frozen ones (make sure they have no shells on and have been deveined). Simply add them to your poaching liquid at the very end when your fish is sitting in the hot milk but the pan is off the heat. They will gently poach in the hot liquid and then finish cooking once the pie is in the oven.
The way I boil the eggs for the pie is to have the egg yolks slightly runny (they will cook more under the potato topping in the oven). My method is to lower the eggs gently into lightly simmering water with a drop of vinegar (this will prevent the white from sipping out if the egg was to accidentally crack) and simmer for 6 minutes. Run the eggs under the cold water straight after time is up to prevent them from cooking any further. Let them cool, peel and cut in half. Be gentle as the yolk will still be soft. If you prefer your yolk completely set feel free to cook them for longer.
If you make one to freeze, don't add eggs as they will taste rubbery upon defrosting and baking.
Defrost your fish pie in the fridge overnight and bake from chilled adding another 5-10 min.

Nutrition