In the last decade there have been great developments in freezing fish in a sustainable way. Some advantages include that the fishing is undertaken in the peak of the season and freezing is done to preserve the produce. It’s affordable, transportable and easy to buy. With frozen fish you can make this fish pie any time of the year.
Ingredients
- 600 g/1 lb 5 oz hake fillet, skinned
- 600 ml/1 pint/2½ cups milk
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 kg/2 lb 4 oz potatoes, peeled and cut into even-
- size chunks
- 100 g/4 oz/8 tbsp butter
- freshly grated nutmeg
- 8 green asparagus spears (stalks), woody ends
- trimmed off and cut into 12.5-cm/5-in lengths, 3
- stalks halved lengthwise
- 100 g/4 oz peas
- 4 tbsp plain (all-purpose) flour
- handful of flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped handful of chives, finely chopped
- 8 hard-boiled (hard-cooked) eggs, peeled
- 150 g/5 oz hard cheese, grated
- salt
How to Make It
- Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas Mark 4. Prepare a bowl of iced water.
- Place the hake fillet in a saucepan with about 500 ml/18 fl oz/2 cups of the milk, making sure the fish is submerged in the milk. Add the bay leaf and a pinch of salt. Bring the milk to the boil, turn off the heat and cover the pan. Leave to stand for about 5–7 minutes or until the fish is cooked. Drain it from the pan with a skimmer and reserve the milk but discard the bay leaf.
- Bring the potatoes to the boil in a pan of lightly salted water and cook for 15–20 minutes until tender. Drain and add half the butter. Warm the remaining 100 ml/3½ floz/generous ⅓ cup of the milk and add as well. Mash the potatoes and season with salt, pepper and nutmeg.
- Blanch the asparagus and peas for 1–2 minutes in a pan of boiling water. Drain and transfer to a bowl of iced water.
- Heat the remaining 50 g/2 oz/4 tbsp butter in a saucepan over a low heat. When the butter has melted but not browned, take the pan off the heat and stir in the flour until smooth. Put the pan back on the heat and cook the flour for 1 minute, stirring with a spatula. Gradually whisk in the milk used to poach the fish (not all the milk may be needed), whisking constantly until the milk comes to the boil and you have a thick, smooth sauce.
- Stir in the parsley, chives, peas, whole asparagus spears (stalks) and the fish, which will break up into large chunks. Season with nutmeg, salt and pepper.
- Spoon the fish mixture into a greased ovenproof dish, spreading it out in an even layer. Halve the hard-boiled (hard-cooked) eggs and press the halves into the fish mixture, spacing them out evenly. Cover with a thick layer of mashed potatoes, sprinkle with the grated cheese and arrange the halved asparagus spears on top.
- Bake the pie in the oven for 20–25 minutes until the top is golden-brown.
