SCHOOLHOUSE FISH PIES

Serves 4 (See photograph, page 73)

These golden potato-topped pies are filled with a creamy white sauce swimming with pieces of soft white fish. This is classic comfort food and you’ll find each forkful is a restorative mouthful. 80g butter 1 white onion, peeled, fifinely diced 2 anchovy fifillets, drained, chopped 2 bay leaves 2 garlic cloves, peeled, fifinely chopped ¼ cup plain flflour 2 cups milk 1 tablespoon hot English mustard 500g boneless white fifish fifillets, cut into 2cm pieces ½ cup chopped flflat-leaf parsley 1 tablespoon chopped dill 1 tablespoon baby capers, rinsed, drained 1 lemon, rind fifinely grated, juiced 4 large flfloury potatoes, peeled, roughly chopped pinch of nutmeg pinch of paprika ½ cup grated cheddar steamed green beans, to serve Place 40g of butter in a heavy-based saucepan over a medium heat until butter melts. Add onion, anchovy and bay leaves and cook, stirring, for 5 minutes or until onion softens. Add garlic and cook, stirring, for 1 minute or until fragrant. Add flflour and stir until well combined and mixture bubbles. Remove from heat. Gradually add 1½ cups of milk, stirring constantly, until well combined. Add mustard and stir to combine. Place pan over a medium heat and cook, stirring constantly, until sauce boils and thickens. Set aside to cool completely. Add fifish, parsley, dill, capers, lemon rind and lemon juice to sauce. Season to taste. Spoon fifish mixture among four 2-cup capacity pie tins or ovenproof ramekins. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes or until fifirm. Meanwhile, cook potato in a large saucepan of boiling water for 15 minutes or until tender. Drain well and return to pan. Add nutmeg, paprika, remaining butter and remaining milk. Using a potato masher or fork, mash until smooth. Season to taste. Preheat oven to 160°C. Spoon mashed potato over fifish mixture in pie tins. Sprinkle with grated cheddar. Place pie tins on a baking tray. Bake for 25 minutes or until golden and heated through. Serve with green beans.