About this recipe
Fish pie is the dish most coeliacs miss first, because the classic sauce is a wheat-flour roux. This version thickens the poaching milk with cornflour instead, which gives a glossier, lighter sauce that never tastes pasty. The fish poaches gently in the milk first so nothing overcooks in the oven, and the mash gets a handful of Cheddar and a good grating of nutmeg.
Ingredients
- 1.2 kg floury potatoespeeled and cut into even chunks
- 0.5 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tsp fine sea salt
- 150 g frozen peas
- 10 g fresh chivessnipped
- 20 g fresh flat-leaf parsleychopped
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- 40 g cornflour
- 2 medium leekstrimmed and sliced into half-moons
- 8 peppercorns black peppercorns
- 2 leaves bay leaves
- 150 g raw king prawnspeeled
- 350 g skinless white fish filletspollock, coley or cod, cut into large chunks
- 350 g smoked haddock filletsskinned, undyed if you can get it
- 0.25 tsp ground nutmeg
- 100 g mature Cheddar cheesecoarsely grated
- 700 ml whole milk
- 90 g unsalted butter
Method
- 1
Put the milk, bay leaves and peppercorns in a wide pan and bring to a bare tremble. Slide in the smoked haddock and white fish, take the pan off the heat and leave to stand for 8 minutes — the residual heat cooks the fish through without toughening it. Lift the fish out with a slotted spoon onto a plate and strain the milk into a jug, discarding the bay and peppercorns.
Standing rather than simmering is the whole trick. Boiled fish shreds into threads; poached fish stays in generous flakes.
- 2
Meanwhile, boil the potatoes in well-salted water for 15-18 minutes until a knife slides in with no resistance. Drain and leave them in the colander to steam dry for 3 minutes, then mash with 60g of the butter and 100ml of the reserved poaching milk. Beat in the Cheddar and nutmeg and season well.
- 3
Melt the remaining 30g butter in the empty fish pan and sweat the leeks over a low heat for 8 minutes with a pinch of salt, until floppy and sweet but not coloured.
- 4
Slake the cornflour with 4 tablespoons of the cold reserved milk in a small bowl until completely smooth. Pour the rest of the reserved milk into the leeks, bring to a simmer, then whisk in the cornflour paste. Cook for 2-3 minutes, whisking, until the sauce thickly coats a spoon. Stir in the mustard, parsley, chives and plenty of black pepper.
Always slake cornflour in cold liquid. Tipped straight into hot milk it seizes into lumps you will never whisk out.