- Serves 4 - Ready in 1 hour (or less, if you use fresh fish) -
Gather together…
500g 'fish pie mix', fresh or frozen (i.e. a selection of: cod fillet chunks, prawns and salmon fillet chunks).
1 bay leaf.
900g (3 large tins) of tinned boiled, peeled potatoes.
1 tbsp butter (for the mash).
1 pinch ground pepper (for the mash).
2 handfuls of frozen peas, defrosted in boiling water, twice, and then drained.
Parsley (1 large handful) chopped, (I grow / buy herbs in bulk and then chop and freeze them, so they are ready to use quickly in recipes).
1 jar (approx. 430ml) ready-made white sauce.
3 handfuls of cheese, finely grated.
To serve...
Green salad leaves.
Nice white buttered bread (ideally fresh from a breadmaker), or use half a panini per person, sliced into chunks.
Get cooking…
1. Preheat oven to 200 C (180 C fan) or Gas 6.
2. Put the 500g of fish pieces and the bay leaf into a medium (circa 20cm diameter) NOT LARGE (as there won't be enough fish to cover the base), lidded, oven-safe casserole dish.
3. If the fish is frozen, put the fish dish (with lid on) straight into the oven (whilst the oven is heating up), for 25 minutes - this will defrost (not fully cook) the fish. If using fresh fish, there is no need to put it in the oven yet, just keep the fresh fish in the fridge until needed.
4. Boil half a kettle of water (ready for the peas).
5. Meanwhile mash the 900g tinned potatoes in a flat-based bowl, with the 1 tbsp of butter and ground pepper. Then whizz the mash with a handheld chopper, for approx. 30 seconds, to remove the lumps.
6. Defrost the 2 handfuls of the frozen peas, by pouring boiling water onto them twice.
7.(a) Either...
Remove the (previously frozen) fish from the oven and check (by stabbing largest pieces with a fork) that it is fully defrosted.
7(b) Or...
Get the fresh fish out of the fridge and put it into the medium (circa 20cm diameter), lidded oven-safe casserole dish.
8. To the fish in the casserole dish, add the two handfuls of defrosted, drained peas.
9. Add the handful of chopped Parsley.
10. Tip the 430ml jar of white sauce into the casserole dish. Stir gently but well.
11.Turn on the hob and gently bring the fish-in-sauce to a simmer (circa 5 minutes).
12. Remove the bay-leaf (if you can find it - if not warn those who eat the finished dish that it is in there!)
13. Turn off the hob.
14. Top the sauce-covered fish with the mashed potato. Fluff the top up with a fork. There will be a lot of mash. My mash usually sinks into the sauce - so i've found having plenty of mash means that at least some is still visible!
15. Sprinkle the three handfuls of grated cheese on the top.
16. Bake uncovered for 20 min in the oven, until the sauce is bubbling and the top is golden. Finish browning the top under the grill for 5 minutes at the end.
17. Serve with tasty white buttered bread and salad leaves.