Fantastic British Fish Pie Sunday Dinner

Last Updated on May 20, 2020 by Chef Mireille

In the age of the celebrity chef, there are many who deserve the accolades and then there are others who don’t.  Because one celebrity likes the chef, all of a sudden they will become the biggest celebrity.  Some of these, who shall remain nameless, make cooking more complicated than it needs to be.  Some of these have published cookbooks, yet the recipes are confusing and difficult to follow or are just badly written, so that the final result is NOT as it should be.

One celebrity chef who deserves all the accolades he gets is the Naked Chef aka Jamie Oliver.  I used to be a regular viewer of his television show, the Naked Chef.  He makes delicious food by using simple, fresh ingredients and makes recipes easy to follow.  When I was in culinary school, the bane of my existence was making risotto.  It would either come out too hard or too mushy.  Finally, I attempted a Jamie Oliver recipe where measurements are given by wine glasses instead of cups and I made the perfect risotto for my final exam.  Ever since, I have been a loyal fan.  I hope his new show will be a success, as I think it definitely serves a need in America.  We really need to work on cutting the obesity in this country and learning about the diversity of fruits and vegetables.  Here in NY, I have access to so many fruits and vegetables that eating a healthy, balanced diet is easy.  Middle America does not always have this variety, so I hope Jamie can teach people how to make fruits and vegetables interesting and delicious, no matter how limited their selections may be & to teach them different cooking methods, other than deep frying.  French Fries should not qualify as a vegetable!!!

My next cookbook recipe posting comes from one of his cookbooks, The Naked Chef Takes Off.  Fish Pie is a common Sunday evening dinner in England, comparable to a Sunday roast, in America.  His fish pie was a simple to follow recipe and came out absolutely delicious, with subtle flavors of mustard and nutmeg, but nothing overpowering.  Using simple ingredients creates a delicious family meal.

Fantastic Fish Pie
5 large potatoes, peeled and diced into 1-inch squares
salt and freshly ground pepper
2 eggs,  hard-boiled, shelled and chopped
1 bunch spinach
1 onion, finely chopped
1 carrot, halved lengthwise and finely chopped
extra virgin olive oil
1 1/3 cups heavy cream
2 good handfuls of Parmesan cheese
juice of 1 lemon
1 heaped teaspoon English mustard
1 large handful or flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
1 pound cod fillet, skin removed, pin-boned and sliced into strips
1 pinch freshly grated nutmeg

Preheat the oven to 450 F.

Put the potatoes into salted boiling water and boil for about 10 minutes, until cooked through.  Drain and mash with a little olive oil, salt, pepper and nutmeg. 

Steam spinach until tender.  Squeeze out excess water.

In a seperate pan, heat the oil and fry the onion and carrot for about 5 minutes, until vegetables soften.  Add cream and bring to a boil.  Remove from the heat and add cheese, mustard, lemon juice and parsley.  Stir to combine.

In a large casserole dish, place the spinach on the bottom.  Placed the eggs and fish on top.  Pour the cream sauce on top.  Cover with the mashed potatoes.  Spread evenly.  Bake for 25-30 minutes, until golden brown at the edges.