Fish Pie

We hardly ever have any left, but I certainly would. I typically use (all out of the freezer) smoked haddock, white fish, small prawns. No salmon, I’m not mad keen unless it’s smoked. Plenty of mash, with cheese on top. 😋

@MayaParker001

What’s your go-to method for making fish pie? Do you have any favorite twists or family recipes? Let’s share tips to make this classic even better!

Quickie: 2 sheets pastry, one can onions, one can peas, filleted fish of choice, one can spinach, one egg, one handful grated raw potato, one can mackerel in tomato sauce, one handful grated carrot, one grated apple, anchovies optional. Line dish. Combine stuffing ingredients. Place over pastry, and cover with other sheet. Poke fork into pastry, or snip with scissors. Sprinkle with fennel seeds or poppy seeds or sesame seeds. Bake till pastry is golden brown.

I've never seen tinned onions, are they widely available?

I’ve never seen them (and is tinned spinach still available here?). That certainly isn’t my idea of a fish pie. Sorry but I don’t fancy that recipe at all. 🤮

Fish pie is a favourite with us too; like others I lightly poach the fish in the milk I'm using for the sauce and let it sit for a while to infuse. I often add a shake of Thai fish sauce for added flavour alongside dill, a soupcon of Dijon mustard and some lemon juice.

I've recently experimented with roughly crushing the cooked potato for the topping, mixing in some olive oil rather than butter and then artistically plonking it on top of the fish and sauce. A grating of cheese, some Schwartz Fish Seasoning and some breadcrumbs, and it comes up quite crunchy. I'm definitely going to try the sliced potato option, that sounds great.

I usually make two at a time, one for eating (in which case I'll put in some chopped hardboiled egg) and one for freezing, and the fish pie mix is more often than not from the freezer; we've never had any problem.

Re method, I poach the fish in milk, then use that milk to make a white sauce, with a good slug of white wine and plenty of chopped parsley added. A fish or chicken stock cube. Pepper. Probably a little grated cheese.
No hard boiled eggs, could never see the point. Ditto capers.

Flake the poached fish and add to sauce, with defrosted prawns. Heat all through, pile into dish, top with lots of mash, grated cheese on top, whack under the grill.
Usually served with peas (dh can never have too many peas!)

(dh can never have too many peas!)

My SisIL used to say that peas weren't a 'proper vegetable'.
We do like peas

M&S do pouches of sauce and I've often used the cheese sauce one in a fish pie. I usually top mine with a mix of chunky breadcrumbs, chopped spring onions and grated parmesan. Not a fan of the mash topping.

It’s not necessary to poach fish before it goes in the pie.

Just cube it, put in a pie dish with boiled egg then add your sauce and topping.

The 25+ minutes it takes in the oven and the warm/hot sauce is enough to cook the fish.

Poaching first will result in overcooked fish.

Sago

It’s not necessary to poach fish before it goes in the pie.

Just cube it, put in a pie dish with boiled egg then add your sauce and topping.

The 25+ minutes it takes in the oven and the warm/hot sauce is enough to cook the fish.

Poaching first will result in overcooked fish.

My poached fish doesn’t end up overcooked - it goes under the grill to brown the cheese-topped mash while it’s all still hot anyway.

Allira

^(dh can never have too many peas!)^

My SisIL used to say that peas weren't a 'proper vegetable'.
We do like peas

Luckily dh is equally keen on ‘proper’ vegetables, inc. cabbage and sprouts!

Tanjamaltija

@MayaParker001

What’s your go-to method for making fish pie? Do you have any favorite twists or family recipes? Let’s share tips to make this classic even better!

Quickie: 2 sheets pastry, one can onions, one can peas, filleted fish of choice, one can spinach, one egg, one handful grated raw potato, one can mackerel in tomato sauce, one handful grated carrot, one grated apple, anchovies optional. Line dish. Combine stuffing ingredients. Place over pastry, and cover with other sheet. Poke fork into pastry, or snip with scissors. Sprinkle with fennel seeds or poppy seeds or sesame seeds. Bake till pastry is golden brown.

Sorry,far too many cans for my liking.
UPF is not part of my cooking, preferring to cook from scratch.
I would never use tinned mackerel either - and especially not in tomato sauce. Tinned peas? I don't think so.
I know we all have our own tastes but this sounds like an unlikely and unappetising combination of ingredients.

Charlie Bigham for us this evening 😀
With peas.

Easy peasy (groan)

Esmay

Yes , thaw it and prepare your pie then refreeze .
I've done it many times .
I also add thawed out frozen spinach , peas and /or grated cheese to some to make a change .

But don't refreeze uncooked ingredients such as the fish pie mix, you would have to cook the pie freeze and reheat having thawed it out fully

Even if you think you are buying fresh fish, it has often been frozen on the trawler or quayside for transport so again you are usually advised not to referee.

refreeze for heavens sake!

RosiesMaw2 -
I'm not suggesting refreezing thawed out ingredients .
I never have and wouldn't risk it .
I'm suggesting freezing cooked food .
I shouldn't have written refreeze , but freeze .

What is UPF please?

Ultra processed food.

Poach the fish first, I use cod, haddock and salmon in ours, some peas, broccoli and sweetcorn, then cheese sauce. Top with mash, grated cheese and tomatoes. Never any leftovers!

I've just got round to making my first fish pie of 2025 and I took Granny27's idea of using potato slices instead of mash. I cooked them lightly first, drained and refreshed in cold water, then put them on top of the fish mix, dotted with a little butter and a sprinkle of cheese. It was utterly scrummy, so thank you Granny 27!