Easy fish pie

Ingredients

1 onion, peeled and chopped
1 bay leaf
1 tbsp black peppercorns
2 1/4 cups (560mls) whole milk
500g fresh salmon fillets (pin-boned)

White sauce

1 tbsp (20g) butter
3 tbsp plain flour
1/3 cup (40g) cheddar cheese, grated
1 cup (120g) peas, cooked

Topping

1 sheet puff pastry, thawed
1 egg, lightly beaten

Method

Preheat oven to 200°C (180C fan-forced) and lightly grease a 22 x 22cm ovenproof ceramic dish.

To cook the fish, place onions, bay leaf, peppercorns and milk in a large saucepan and bring to a gentle simmer. Add the fish fillets, cover and let simmer gently for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and drain, reserving 2 cups of milk for the white sauce.

To make the sauce, melt butter in a small pan and once bubbling, stir through the flour until texture is coarse and sandy. Remove from heat and add a splash of the reserved milk, whisking until smooth. Return to the heat and gradually add the remaining milk, whisking constantly until you have a smooth, white sauce. Stir through the cheese and season to taste.

Place fish and peas on the base of your baking dish, pour over the sauce and gently mix through. Cut the pastry into one large circle and drape across the pie. Crimp the edges with a fork, brush with egg and bake for 35 minutes and serve.

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Serving Suggestions

Note

You could swap some or all of the salmon for smoked fish, prawns and/or mussels and if you prefer, top with mashed potato instead of pastry.
Make in advance and either freeze or store in the fridge until needed. It’s perfect to reheat for those cool weeknights when we have sport after school and arrive home late, starving and needing a warm meal in a matter of minutes.
This recipe was created by Sophie Hansen for Kidspot, New Zealand’s best recipe finder. You can follow Sophie on Local is Lovely, Facebook, Twitter or Pinterest.