Jono & Jules do food & wine

This is an excellent fish pie recipe by Marcus Waring. It makes a generous portion so great for feeding a crowd or you can divide it between two dishes and freeze some for later.

Wine Suggestion: A full-bodied Chardonnay is our choice for rich fish pies. Tonight it was Domaine Labet’s “en Billat” an ancient vine, jurassic soiled classic we are fortunate to have a few bottles of from holidays last year. Think of a majestic white Burgundy with altitude, and a concentration that 100 + year old vines can achieve.

Fish Pie – serves 6, generously

• 1kg fish fillets (a mix of salmon & cod/haddock), skinned
• 600-800ml whole milk
• 2 bay leaves
• 75g butter
• 1 small onion, diced
• 1 leek, white part only, sliced
• 50g plain flour
• 100ml white wine or white vermouth if you have it
• 2 tbsp crème fraîche
• 150g frozen peas, defrosted
• 300g raw tiger prawns, shelled
• 2 tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley
• 3 hard-boiled eggs, peeled and cut into chunky pieces
• 2 tbsp capers, rinsed

FOR THE TOPPING:

• 1.2kg potatoes, cut into chunks
• 50g butter
• splash of milk
• 100g grated Cheddar cheese

Remove any bones from the fish with tweezers, then put into a large pan and pour in enough milk to cover. Add the bay leaves and some salt and pepper. Gently bring to the boil over a medium heat, then simmer for 5 minutes or until just cooked. Remove from the heat.

Melt a third of the butter in a large saucepan. Add the leeks and onion and cook gently until softened. Remove the leeks and onions from the pan and set aside. Melt the rest of the butter in the same pan and when it bubbles stir in the flour and cook for about 30 seconds, then add the wine or vermouth and stir to form a thick paste. Tip the leeks and onions back into the pan.

Strain the milk from the fish fillets into a measuring jug. Gradually add about 600ml of the milk to the leek mixture, stirring until the sauce bubbles and coats the back of a spoon. Stir in the crème fraîche and season again.

Flake the fish into chunky pieces and gently fold through the sauce along with the peas, prawns and parsley.

Spoon the mixture into a large ovenproof dish. Scatter the eggs and capers evenly over the top.

Preheat the oven to 200C/180fan/gas 6.

To make the topping, put the potatoes into a large saucepan, cover with water,  add a generous pinch of salt, and bring to the boil. Simmer for 15-20 minutes or until cooked through. Drain the potatoes and mash with the butter and enough milk to make a spreadable mash. Season.

Spread the potato over the fish and sprinkle with the grated cheese.

Bake for 20-30 minutes or until the top is golden and the sauce is bubbling.

(Original recipe from Marcus At Home by Marcus Wareing, HarperCollinsPublishers, 2016.)