In our series of Tried and Tested Recipes, find out how mum Mandy got on with trying out this Fish Pie Recipe by Rachel Allen on her family: 

I have a range of ages from 19 to 9 months and one very fussy 5 year old. The recipe I tried was a Fish Pie recipe by Rachel Allen.

We as a whole would eat a lot of fish anyway, except salmon, so this seemed like the prefect recipe to mix salmon into a dinner.

How did you get on cooking it?

The recipe was easy to follow and I had no problems understanding the directions.

What the family thought of it

Taste wise, it was delicious. The mix of fish I bought in Supervalu had Hake, Coley, Whiting and Salmon. The Salmon didn’t over power the other fish, which was good.

The sauce was lovely too, not too much wine or mustard and was well balanced.

The only thing I would say was I found myself thinking that maybe there should be some peas in it but it was fine without them, I just like my veg.

Another thing is, that it was easy to make in the morning and pop in the fridge to cook again later.

Would you make it again?

I would definitely make this again as there were clean plates all around and the score averaged out at 4 points from 6 of us. The points were deducted for little things like, no peas and cost. Price wise it’s a bit expensive for an every week dinner. I got 1kg of fish instead of the 800g and it cost €15.

Marks out of 5

4 out of 5

Recipe adapted from Rachel Allen “Home Cooking”, published by Collins

Ingredients

• 1 large onion, chopped
• 800 g skinless fillets of fish such as salmon, cod, whiting, hake or haddock
• 150 ml white wine
• 1 lemon, juice only
• 125 g butter, diced
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 150 g mushrooms, sliced
• 225 ml double cream
• 1 heaped tbsp Dijon mustard
• 4 tbsp finely chopped mixed herbs
• 1 kg mashed potatoes

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/Gas 4.

2. Place the onion in the bottom of a large saucepan and lay the fish on top in an even layer. Pour in the wine add the lemon juice scatter with 100g of the butter and season with salt and pepper. Cover with a lid and simmer on a low heat for 15–20 minutes or until the fish is cooked.

3. In the meantime, melt the remaining butter in a small frying pan and sauté the mushrooms on a gentle heat for 5–6 minutes or until softened. Season well with salt and pepper.

4. Once cooked and using a slotted spoon, carefully transfer the fish from the saucepan (leaving the onions and cooking liquid in the pan) to a 22cm square ovenproof dish.

5. Add the cream to the onions and cooking liquid in the pan and continue to simmer, with the lid off, for 10–15 minutes or until the sauce is reduced and thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Stir in the mustard, herbs and sautéed mushrooms and check the seasoning.

5. Pour the sauce over the fish in the dish and spoon over the mashed potato, spreading with the back of a spoon or fork. Alternatively, pipe the mash over the fish with a piping bag and nozzle for a more professional-looking finish. The fish pie can be prepared to this stage, left to cool and then placed in the fridge overnight until ready to bake.

6 Bake in the oven for about 30 minutes or until bubbling and golden on top. If cooking from chilled then bake for about 40 minutes instead. Serve immediately.

You might also enjoy Buried Treasure Fish Pie and Gratin of Fish, Cheese, Tomatoes and Herbs

Have you made Rachel Allen’s Fish Pie recipe before? Tell us your thoughts in the comments below.

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