Jamie’s fish pie

I’ve made this dish again and again, in different guises, and despite some interesting and noteworthy adaptations, I feel I need to pay hommage to the original recipe. My mum introduced this one to me about 7 years ago and I haven’t looked back since.

What I love most about this recipe is that it is a pre-prepared dish for the oven (can even be done the night before), so I can actually talk to my guests and enjoy the evening without sweating over the stove in the other room. It gets a thumbs up from the pescatarians, and it caters for those who are affronted by a meal without animal protein. Most boxes ticked then. I’m partial to making a whole extra pie just to put in the freezer for another date as it takes minimal extra effort. It does however require a spare roasting dish and freezer space!

Serves 6

500g mixed fish and seafood (a good mix of white & pink fish cubed,
prawns & mussels – most supermarket fish counters will prepare this for you)
5 large potatoes, peeled and diced into 2 . 5cm/1 inch squares
salt & freshly ground black pepper
2 free range eggs
200 g fresh spinach
1 onion, finely chopped
1 carrot, halved and finely chopped
extra virgin olive oil
600 ml cream
200 g cheddar cheese
1 lemon, juice of
1 teaspoon English mustard
100 g flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
nutmeg (optional)

Preheat the oven to 230C.

Start by grating and chopping the potatoes and placing them in a saucepan of boiling salted water. When the pan comes to the boil again add the eggs to the same pan to hard boil for 8 minutes, by which time both the eggs and potatoes will be cooked. At the same time, place the spinach in a colander over the saucepan to steam cook it for 2 minutes. Remove the spinach and squeeze the excess water out of it. Fish out the eggs and drain the potatoes.

Whilst the potatoes are on their way, you can finely chop the onions and carrots and fry them on a low heat for around 8mins until soft. Next, add the double cream until it simmers, then remove from the heat and add the cheese, lemon, mustard and parsley, mixing in so that the cheese melts.

Lightly oil the bottom and sides of your roasting dish, add the fish mix on the bottom. Chop your hard boiled eggs and add to the fish. Layer the spinach on top. Add your sauce evenly on top of that. Lastly, mash your potatoes with a good drizzle of olive oil, salt & pepper and a few gratings of nutmeg (for autumn/winter) and cover evenly on the very top using the back of a fork.

Cook for 25-30 minutes until golden. Smiles all around. Thanks Jamie. Again.

*note: if you are freezing a spare, cook it first. Then just defrost when ready and heat through to serve.