Easy Cheesy Fish Pie

Easy Cheesy Fish Pie

EASY

LUNCH, DINNER

Hands on time & cook time 45

This is a great dish for fussy fish eaters (like husbands!) It's very easy to make, my daughter prefers individual pies with veg served on the side, but you can opt for a large pie with chopped carrots or peas inside.  Poaching the fish is so quick and the cheesy creamy sauce  is always a winner in my house.  I sometimes make these in advance and freeze the fish pie but without the mash potato. You could also top them with a mix of potato and sweet potato for extra vitamin C.

Poaching fish in milk with a bay leaf.

Poaching fish is an easy and quick way to cook fish, keeping it moist and full of flavour.

INGREDIENTS

Serves 6 (freeze a little or half ingredients)

800g mixed fish fillets such as Hake,Cod, Salmon (buy without skin)
300 ml (1/2 pint) semi -skimmed milk
1 bay leaf
20g  (1oz) butter
20g  (1 oz) flour
75g (3 oz) soft cheese such as Philadelphia
500g (1lb 2 oz) potatoes, peeled and chopped
*fresh chopped parsley is lovely to add to the sauce..but my daughter doesn´t like green bits !*

METHOD

Pre-heat the oven 180 C. Bring to the boil the potatoes until soft. Cut the fish into small cubes. Pour the milk into a pan with the bay leaf, add the fish and bring to simmering and cook for 7-8 minutes - until just cooked. Remove the fish from the milk using a sieve and keep the strained milk and leave to one side. Transfer the fish to small individual  shallow dishes (or 1 large dish) removing any bones. Melt the butter in a saucepan, add and stir the flour,gradually add the warm poaching milk and bring to a simmer. Once the sauce is thick, take off the heat and stir in the soft cheese. Mash the potatoes with a little milk and butter, you can season or add a little Parmesan to taste.(I love grated nutmeg too) Add the mash potato on top of the fish, brush with beaten egg or a little milk to brown the potato if you wish, bake for 20 mins.