As this blog focuses on traditional recipes found in old recipe books and recreated with standard ingredients in my original Barbican kitchen, what could be more old school that a creamy fishermans's pie... especially one adapted from an old Delia book inherited from my Granny:
Ingredients:
700-800g white fish
500ml milk
24g butter
2 tbsp plain flour
A handful of peeled prawns
2 hard boiled eggs
3 tbsp chopped parsley
Half a bag of spinach
1 level tbsp capers
1 tbsp lemon juice
1kg potatoes, peeled, chopped, cooked and mashed
25g butter
Grated nutmeg
Method:
Poach the fish (and prawns if raw) in the milk for 10-15 mins until it flakes easily. Flake the fish, discard and skin and bones but keep the poaching liquid.
Make the sauce by melting the butter, stirring in the flour then gradually adding the poaching liquid, whisking well to stop it going lumpy. Cook gently until thickened and season.
Mix the fish, prawns, eggs, parsley, capers and spinach into the sauce. Taste and add some lemon juice if needed.
Pour the mixture into a pie dish and top with the buttery mashed potatoes and a grating of nutmeg.
Bake in the oven at 200C for about 30mins until the top has browned. I added some breadcrumbs and Parmesan for the last 10 minutes for a crispier topping.
Bon appetit!
