It's Lent. It's yummy. And no, I didn't eat it (calories), but everyone else loved it. All that said, I can't really take credit because it's Jamie Oliver's recipe.
Fantastic Fish Pie
Jamie Oliver from The Return of the Naked Chef
(My notes are in italics; the photos are mine)
6 large potatoes, peeled and diced into 1-inch squares
salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 free-range eggs
2 large handfuls fresh spinach, trimmed and washed
1 onion, finely chopped (I don't use the onion)
1 carrot, halved and finely chopped (we like the carrot chunky)
Extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 pint double cream (I use light cream or just milk)
2 good handfuls grated mature Cheddar or Parmesan
juice of 1 lemon
1 heaped teaspoon English mustard
1 large handful flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
455gr/1 lb haddock or fresh cod fillet, skin removed, pin-boned and sliced into strips (use whatever you have; I've used halibut, snapper and crappy)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Nutmeg, optional
Preheat the oven to 230C/450F/gas6. (We do 350 for 30 min)
Put
the potatoes into salted boiling water and bring back to a boil for 2
minutes. Carefully add the eggs to the pan and cook for a further 8
minutes until hard boiled, by which time the potatoes should also be
cooked. At the same time, steam the spinach in a colander above the pan.
This will only take a minute. When the spinach is done, remove from the
colander and gently squeeze any excess moisture away. Then drain the
potatoes in the colander. Remove the eggs, cool under cold water, then
peel and quarter them. Place to one side.
In a separate pan
slowly fry the onion and carrot in a little olive oil for about 5
minutes, then add the double cream, and bring just to a boil. Remove
from the heat and add the cheese, lemon juice, mustard, and parsley.
Put
the spinach, fish and eggs into an appropriately sized earthenware dish
and mix together, pouring over the creamy vegetable sauce.
(before pouring on the sauce)
The cooked
potatoes should be drained and mashed, add a bit of olive oil, salt,
pepper, and a touch of nutmeg, if you like. (we use butter instead of olive oil here)
Spread on top of the fish.
Don't bother piping it to make it look pretty, it's a homely hearty
thing. Place in the oven for about 25 to 30 minutes until the potatoes
are golden.
Serve with some nice peas or greens, not forgetting the baked beans and tomato ketchup. Tacky but tasty, and that's what I like.
And here is the picture 2 minutes after I put it on the table -- I was just a little too slow!
Try it and let me know how much you love it too!
