Mrs Norman’s fish pie

Serves four

• 750g Maris Piper potatoes

• 300g mixed salmon, haddock

and smoked pollock fillets

• 250g large prawns

• 2 hard-boiled eggs, halved

• 500ml whole milk

• 100g salted butter

• 50g plain flour

• Small bunch of parsley, chopped

• Grated nutmeg

• Flaky sea salt

• Ground black pepper

Method

1.

Peel, quarter and boil the potatoes for mash. Meanwhile, poach the fish and prawns in the milk for about 10mins. Use a slotted spoon to remove the fish and prawns from the milk and set aside. Flake the fish into uneven chunks. Keep the milk for the next step.

2.

Make a white sauce by melting half the butter in a large, heavy pan and slowly stirring in flour to create a paste. Heat gently until it’s golden brown. Now, very slowly and gradually, stir in the fishy milk you used for poaching. Keep the heat low so the milk doesn’t boil. Keep adding milk and stirring until the flour and butter mixture is completely blended with the milk in a velvety sauce. Grate in a little nutmeg at this point. Now add the chopped parsley, a good pinch of salt and a twist of black pepper, and fold in the fish and prawns.

3.

Preheat the oven to 180˚C. Add the remaining butter and a good pinch of salt to your potatoes and mash them thoroughly or pass them through a ricer. If you have a little fishy milk left you can add this too. Spread the fish, prawn and white sauce mixture in an ovenproof dish. Place the four egg halves into the mix, face up, spacing them evenly so each portion contains egg. Spoon the mash on top and use the ricer to finish off, creating a pattern of strands that will crisp nicely and turn golden brown in the oven.

4.

Put the dish on a baking tray and place on the middle shelf for about 30mins. If the top doesn’t brown well, place it under a medium grill for the last 5mins. Serve with hot buttered greens or a big bowl of minty peas.