Creamy sauce and mashed potato topped with cheese combine to make this a delicious weeknight meal that all the family will love.
This can be made up to one day ahead. Just allow to chill in the fridge, and adjust the cooking time to 40 minutes.
Ingredients
- 400g skinless white fish fillet
- 400g skinless smoked haddock fillet
- 600ml full fat milk
- 1 small onion, quartered
- 2 bay leaves
- 4 eggs
- Handful of parsely (leaves only), roughly chopped
- 100g butter
- 50g plain butter
- 1kg potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
- 50g cheddar, grated
Method
- Begin by poaching the fish fillets. Fill a frying pan with 500ml of the milk, then place the fish in followed by the onion and bay leaves. Bring just to the boil, then reduce and simmer for 8 minutes. Lift the fish out onto a plate, and strain the milk into a jug to cool. Flake the fish into large pieces, and add to a baking dish.
- Bring a saucepan filled with water to a boil, then carefully lower the eggs in. Set a timer for 8 minutes, and allow the eggs to cook to a hard-boiled state. Remove the eggs from the pan and cool them in a bowl of cold water. Peel, slice into quarters, then arrange over the fish in the baking tray. Scatter the chopped parsley leaves over this.
- To make the sauce, melt 50g of the butter in a pan and then stir in the plain flour, cooking over a medium heat for 1 minute. Remove from the heat and stir in a little of the cold poaching milk. Continue to add the milk gradually, mixing well until you have a smooth sauce. Return to the heat and bring back to the boil, stirring continually until the sauce coats the back of a spoon. Remove from the heat, season, then pour over the fish.
- Heat your oven to 200°C/180°C Fan/Gas Mark 6. While your oven is heating, boil the potatoes for 20 minutes, then drain, boil and mash with the remaining butter and 100ml milk. Spread the mash over the top of the fish to form the pie, making sure it is pulled right to the edges to seal everything in.
- Sprinkle the cheddar over the top and bake for 30 mins. Serve and enjoy!
Lead image: Andy Hunting via Getty images.