Fish Pie

Gary Maclean was kind enough to share his book, Kitchen Essentials: The Joy of Home Cooking with us and gave his permission to share a few of his delicious recipes to encourage the family to gather around the table. Here are a couple of Gary’s family favorites – British classics like fish pie and a simple roast chicken. As Gary wrote in his book, “there’s nothing better than being the first person to crack open a fish pie… Some of the best plates of food you will ever eat are the simplest and, for me, one of the best recipes is a simple roast chicken: done properly it’s an incredible dish.”

Fish pie

Gary’s own “Hassle Factor” Rating: 2G’s or, “a wee bit more complex”

1 pack of fish pie mix, between 320g to 400g
50g butter
50g plain flour
500ml milk
1 bay leaf
2 cloves
1 small onion
150g Cheddar, grated
50g Parmesan, grated
4 spring onions, finely sliced
1 tsp Dijon or English mustard
25g chives, finely snipped
100g frozen sweetcorn
100g frozen peas
Salt and pepper, to taste

A classic fish pie is filling and full of flavour. The fish mix you use can include cod, salmon, smoked haddock and so on – it’s up to you.

The first job is to peel your onion, then, using the cloves, pierce the bay leaf onto the onion. Place the studded onion into a small pot and cover with the milk.
Slowly bring the milk up to a simmer; as soon as the milk is simmering turn off the heat and allow the studded onion to flavour the milk.
Melt the butter in another small pan then add the flour and mix to form a thick paste called a roux.
Cook out for 3 to 4 minutes then slowly start to add the warm, flavoured milk. Stir continuously while you add the milk until you achieve a smooth sauce with the consistency of thick double cream. If you add the milk a little at a time you will avoid making a lumpy sauce.
Cook this out for 10 minutes over a very low heat to avoid burning the sauce, stirring every minute or so.
Take off the heat and stir in the cheese (save some Cheddar for the topping), fish, mustard, spring onions, chives, sweetcorn and peas. Spoon into an ovenproof dish.
Spoon or pipe the mashed potato on top and sprinkle with Cheddar cheese.
Place into the oven, preheated to 200°C, for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden and bubbling at the edges.