Giffords fish pie

serves six

You’ll need FOR THE FILLING ● 200g mussels, clams or razor clams, cleaned and bearded

● 500g salmon, cod and smoked haddock, diced ● 6–12 raw tiger prawns or langoustines ● 100ml white wine ● 500ml double cream ● 1 tbsp Dijon mustard

● 2 bay leaves

● 50g butter

● 2 banana shallots, thinly sliced

● 1 fennel bulb, thinly sliced

● 50g plain flour ● 3 hard-boiled eggs, shelled and chopped ● juice and zest of 1 lemon ● sea salt and white pepper ● buttered samphire, to serve FOR THE MASH TOPPING

● 1kg floury potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks

● 50g unsalted butter, cubed

● 100ml double cream

● 2 egg yolks FOR THE BREADCRUMB TOPPING

● 250g fresh breadcrumbs

● small handful of dill and tarragon, chopped

● 50g unsalted butter

Method

1. Put a saucepan over high heat until extremely hot. Throw in the seafood and white wine and bring to a frantic boil, then lower heat slightly, cover with lid and simmer for 3–4 mins.

2. Remove lid, take seafood out with a slotted spoon and put into a bowl. Keep the cooking liquor over low heat and add cream, mustard and bay leaves and simmer for a few mins. Reserve for later. Pick the meat from the shellfish and put all prepared seafood in the fridge.

3. Melt butter in a deep saucepan, add shallots and fennel with a pinch of salt and cook for about 5 mins, stirring often, until softened. Add flour whilst still stirring and cook for a further 5 mins. Gradually ladle in reserved cream mixture, stir until thick.

4. Season well with salt and pepper and pick out the bay leaves. Leave in fridge, with clingfilm pressed on to surface of the sauce, for 2 hours until cool.

5. For the mash topping, par-boil potatoes, drain then put back in pan over low heat to steam dry. Pass through a ricer or bash with a masher until smooth. Heat butter and cream in small pan over low heat until piping hot, then stir into the mash with egg yolks and season with salt and pepper.

6. For breadcrumb topping, blend ingredients together with a good pinch of salt and turn of white pepper until colour of the herbs comes through.

7. Preheat oven to 170C. Add all the seafood to the cooled sauce with chopped eggs and lemon juice and zest, and mix well. Spoon into a large pie dish, pipe or spoon over the mash, then scatter with the green breadcrumbs. Bake for 30 mins until the crumbs start to get crispy! Serve with buttered samphire.