Charlotte asked for fish pie.
Ingredients (serves 6)
The pie
- 500g firm white fish (Rankin cod, snapper, or blue-eye trevalla), skinned, cut into 3-4cm chunks
- 250g hot-smoked fish (hot-smoked cod, smoked trout, or smoked trevally), skin off, broken into chunks
- 200g raw prawns, peeled and deveined, thawed if frozen (green tiger, banana, or supermarket “large prawns”)
- 600ml full-cream milk
- 1 bay leaf, a few peppercorns
- 75g unsalted butter
- 50g plain flour
- 100ml double cream
- 3 hard-boiled eggs, peeled and quartered (the Food Lab method – straight from the fridge into rolling-boiling water for 11 minutes, then into ice water – gives perfect easy-peel eggs every time)
- 4 spring onions, finely sliced
- salt, pepper
- about 1/8 to 1/6 of a whole nutmeg, freshly grated
The mash
- 1.2kg brushed potatoes (the dirt-on whites from Woolworths), peeled and chunked
- 100g unsalted butter
- 100ml warm milk
- salt
The crust finish
- 30g Parmesan, finely grated
- pink flakey salt
Sunday morning: poach, sauce, fold
The whole cook – poach, sauce, bake, serve – happens in a shallow Le Creuset casserole. One vessel, no transfers, straight to the table.
I put the 500g white fish into the casserole with the 600ml cold milk, the bay leaf, and peppercorns. I bring it to a simmer and cook until the fish is almost set, turning halfway. Poaching in milk seasons the milk and gentles the fish; the milk becomes the base of the sauce so nothing’s wasted.
I lift the white fish out with a slotted spoon into a bowl, cutting any oversized pieces roughly with the edge of the spoon – I don’t flake it; I want chunks that hold their shape in the pie. The 250g hot-smoked fish is already cooked, so it goes straight into the bowl in chunks alongside the cod. The 200g raw prawns join the pile too – they’ll cook through in the oven. I strain the warm poaching milk into a jug and wipe the casserole.
Back in the casserole I melt 75g butter, sprinkle in the 50g flour, and stir for a minute or two. The roux is cooked starch – this is what will thicken the sauce; cooking it briefly takes the raw-flour taste off. I pour in the warm strained milk a third at a time, whisking each addition smooth before the next. When all the milk’s in I let it bubble for two minutes, then add the 100ml cream, an eighth of a nutmeg grated fresh, plenty of pepper, and a pinch of salt. The smoked fish will salt the pie further so I keep the seasoning modest.
Off the heat, I tip the pile of fish and prawns into the sauce, scatter in the 4 spring onions, and fold gently. Last in are the 3 quartered eggs – a softer fold so they don’t smash. Smooth the top so it’s level under the mash.
Sunday morning: mash
I boil the 1.2kg potatoes in well-salted water until tender, drain, and return them to the pan over a low heat to steam off any excess water – a watery mash is a crime. Then I mash until smooth, beat in the 100g butter and 100ml warm milk until silky, and season with salt.
I spoon the mash over the filling, smooth it, then drag the tines of a fork across in long lines – the ridges crisp first under the heat.
Sunday lunch: bake
The pie bakes at 200°C for 30-35 minutes – bubbling at the edges, the mash crust deeply golden, the prawns just cooked through. With about ten minutes left I pull it out, scatter the 30g Parmesan over the crust, and finish with a pinch of pink flakey salt: the cheese crisps under the dry heat in the last stretch and the salt sits glassy on the ridges.
Out of the oven, ten minutes’ rest before serving so the sauce settles back into the fish.
Serve
A green vegetable on the side – we had snow peas, lightly blanched. To drink, a Singlefile SSB went nicely with it. The Sémillon brings enough weight to sit with the cream sauce and the smoked fish; the Sauvignon Blanc brings the cut that keeps every forkful feeling fresh, and the mineral edge lifts the palate between bites. The smoked fish is what makes this “yum, fish pie” rather than a bland waste of beautiful produce.