Creamy Fish Pie with Golden Mash

• 350 g Cod, Raw, skinless, cut into large chunks
• 250 g Salmon Fillets, Raw, skinless, cut into large chunks
• 150 g Shrimp, Raw, peeled
• 5 medium Russet Potatoes, peeled and quartered
• 60 g Unsalted Butter
• 500 ml Whole Milk
• 40 g All-Purpose Flour
• 80 g Cheddar Cheese, grated
• 150 g Leeks, washed well and sliced
• 150 g Green Peas, Frozen
• 2 tsp Dijon Mustard
• 20 g Parsley, chopped
• 1.5 tsp Sea Salt
• 0.5 tsp Black Pepper

Steps

1. Boil the potatoes in well-salted water for 15–18 minutes, until a knife slides through with no resistance. Drain and let them steam dry in the colander for a couple of minutes — wet potatoes make gluey mash.
2. Warm the milk in a wide pan and poach the cod and salmon in it for 4–5 minutes, just until the fish turns opaque at the edges. Lift the fish out onto a plate and keep the milk — it is now full of flavour and becomes the sauce.
3. Melt most of the butter in a saucepan, soften the leeks for 5 minutes, then stir in the flour and cook for a minute before whisking in the poaching milk a ladle at a time until smooth and thick.
4. Take the sauce off the heat and stir in the mustard, parsley, salt and pepper. Heat the oven to 200 °C.
5. Mash the potatoes with the remaining butter and a splash of hot milk until smooth, then beat in most of the grated cheddar and season generously — under-seasoned mash is what makes a fish pie taste flat.
6. Flake the poached fish into large pieces in the baking dish, scatter over the raw prawns and peas, and pour the sauce across the top. Fold once, gently — you want chunks, not paste.
7. Spoon the mash over the filling and spread to the edges to seal it, then drag a fork across the surface in ridges and scatter over the last of the cheese.
8. Bake for 30–35 minutes until the peaks are deep golden and the sauce bubbles up around the rim. Rest for 10 minutes before serving so the filling firms up enough to hold its shape on the plate.