Recipes

Smoked fish pie

Delicious and simple – this is a smoked fish pie recipe anyone can make. It will become a firm family favourite. Jazz it up with prawns and serve with green beans, slivered almonds and crumbled feta with olive oil for your dinner party.

Serves 6

You need:

2 x 400g cans of smoked fish or 800g freshly smoked marlin or similar.
4 eggs
500ml blue top milk
1 small onion, roughly chopped
small bunch parsley, leaves only, chopped
100g butter
50g plain flour
pinch freshly grated nutmeg
1kg floury potatoes, peeled and cut into even-sized chunks
50g grated tasty cheddar cheese

How to make smoked fish pie:

Flake your smoked fish into a large, ovenproof, rectangle baking dish.

Hard-boil the eggs. Bring a small pan of water to a gentle boil, then carefully lower the eggs in with a slotted spoon. Bring the water back to a gentle boil, with just a couple of bubbles rising to the surface. Set the timer for 8 mins, cook, then drain and cool in a bowl of cold water. Peel, slice into quarters and arrange on top of the fish, then scatter over the chopped onion and chopped fresh parsley.

Make the sauce. Melt half the butter in a pan, stir in the flour and cook for 1 min over moderate heat. Take off the heat, pour in a little of the milk, then stir until blended. Continue to add the milk gradually, mixing well until you have a smooth sauce. Return to the heat, bring to the boil and cook for 5 mins, stirring continually, until it coats the back of a spoon. Remove from the heat, season with salt, pepper and nutmeg, then pour over the fish.

Assemble and bake. Heat oven to 200C (fanbake 180C). Boil the potatoes for 20 mins. Drain, season and mash with the remaining butter and milk. Use to top the pie, starting at the edge of the dish and working your way in – push the mash right to the edges to seal. Fluff the top with a fork, sprinkle with cheese, then bake for 30 mins.

Make up to a day ahead, chill, then bake for 40 mins.

For something different, add 200g raw peeled king prawns to the baking dish along with the fish. Or try salmon and dill: replace the smoked fish with 400g skinless salmon fillets, and use dill instead of the parsley. Or try fish & vegetable: Add 100g each frozen peas and sweetcorn to the baking dish before pouring over the sauce.

Other additions include silverbeet, tomatoes, spring onions, chives, sour cream dollops. If wanting egg free, just omit and add a vegetable like spinach (as shown in the picture). Go forth and experiment!

Serve with steamed green beans with a drizzle of olive oil and slivered almonds and crumbled feta. Or even try ourGreen Bean Salad Recipe.