Luxury Fish Pie
Recipe

This fish pie recipe is one of my all time favorites from internationally renowned Marcus Wareing, head chef of the world famous Berkeley Hotel, London.

It is taken from his much acclaimed book How to Cook the Perfect... Here Marcus Wareing strips back each recipe to reveal a "Key to Perfection". Follow this and you are promised success: food more delicious than you have ever cooked before!

Gourmet food........the EASY way!

Luxury Fish Pie Recipe

10 fl oz/300ml cold fish stock
2 small sprigs fresh thyme
1 bay leaf cut in half
2 celery sticks, strings removed & finely diced
1 small white-skinned onion finely diced
1 leek (white part only), cut crossways into ¼ inch/1cm rounds
10 raw tiger prawns in their shells
14 fl oz/400ml full-fat milk, plus a little extra if needed
18oz/500g skinless, thick white fish fillets (eg cod or haddock), cut into 1 inch/3cm cubes
leaves of 1 bunch flat-leaf parsley, coarsely chopped
18 fl oz/500ml hot Béchamel Sauce - make without the nutmeg
sea salt & freshly milled white pepper

FOR THE TOPPING
1 quantity hot Mashed Potato
2 large organic egg yolks
1 whole nutmeg, for grating

METHOD

• Pour the stock into a medium saucepan and add 1 sprig of thyme, half a bay leaf and some salt and pepper. Bring to the boil over a high heat. Add the vegetables and simmer on a medium heat, uncovered for 8-10 minutes until tender. Remove the vegetables from the heat and using a slotted spoon, transfer them to a colander set over a bowl. Allow the vegetables to drain and then dry thoroughly with kitchen paper. Pour the drained off liquid into the stock in the pan and reserve.
  

• Peel the prawns and halve lengthways. Remove any black veins and rinse the prawns briefly under cold, running water. Bring the stock back to the boil and drop in the prawns. Cover and simmer for 1½ minutes until they all turn pink. Remove the prawns with a slotted spoon, drain and then dry thoroughly on kitchen paper.
  

• Next, cook the fish. Bring the milk to the boil in a clean pan with the remaining thyme and bay leaf, and some salt and pepper. Add the fish and then bring back to the boil, then take off the heat and leave to stand 4-5 minutes. Remove the fish with a slotted spoon and again dry thoroughly on kitchen paper. Strain the reserved milk and use to make the béchamel.

Now that all of the preparations are done, we can assemble this delicious fish pie recipe .......

• Gently mix the cooked vegetables, prawns and fish together and place into a large earthenware baking dish. Sprinkle with parsley and then gradually ladle the hot béchamel sauce on top until it covers the filling. Don't mix the sauce through or it will break up the fish. Place the dish on a baking tray.
  

• Heat the oven to 390°F/200°C/gas mark 6.
  

• Beat the mashed potato with the egg yolks and allow to cool slightly. Then pipe the potato over the fish mixture using a ½ inch/1cm nozzle (if you don't have a piping bag you can spoon the mash over, smooth it with a palette knife and then use a fork to make a pattern). Grate the nutmeg evenly over the top. Bake for about 35 minutes until the potato topping is tinged golden brown and the filling is bubbling. Allow the pie to rest for 10 minutes and then serve.

This is Marcus Wareing's "key to perfection" for this fish pie recipe .........

The vegetables, prawns and fish must be completely dry before they are mixed with the sauce. If they are wet, they will dilute the sauce and make the pie watery. In turn, as they are cooked, spread the drained vegetables, prawns and fish out on absorbent kitchen paper and pat them dry thoroughly.

To go from Marcus Wareing's Fish Pie Recipe to his
FISH CAKES RECIPE
CLICK HERE