#FishFridayFoodies ~ British Fish Pie

Would you like to join Fish Friday Foodies?  We post and share new seafood/fish recipes on the third Friday of the month.  To join our group please email Wendy at wendyklik1517@gmail.com. Visit our Facebook page and Pinterest page for more wonderful fish and seafood recipe ideas.

Today, Karen of Karen’s Kitchen Stories invited us to make a fish pie! She suggested pies, tarts, quiches, hand pies, pot pies, mini pies, etc. - so there was plenty of room for interpretation. 

See all the lovely Fish Pie Recipes we're sharing with you today:

• British Fish Pie from Making Miracles
• Charleston Shrimp Pie from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Greek Inspired Scallops, Spinach, and Caper Puff Pastry Appetizer Bites from Goats and Greens
• Jambalaya Pot Pie from Palatable Pastime
• Magical White Fish B'Stilla from Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• Norwegian Flaked Salmon & Potato Mini Tarts from Sneha’s Recipe
• Sheet Pan Seafood Pot Pie from Karen’s Kitchen Stories
• Smoked Salmon Tarts from Sid’s Sea palm Cooking

This tasty dish was a family pleaser, I'm happy to say! It was comforting, creamy, chock full of tender seafood, and topped with a pile of fluffy potatoes. I've never made anything quite like this, but we were all very happy with the results. I especially liked the big chunks of cod and salmon! The sauce isn't heavy or rich, even though it's really thick and stick to your ribs in texture. It's mildly seasoned, so you can really just enjoy the flavor of the seafood tucked inside. I will absolutely make this one again. You can easily mix and match the seafood you use to incorporate your favorites, or use what you already have on hand!

British Fish Pie adapted from Gordon Ramsay

Ingredients
1 onion, peeled and diced
2 TBS olive oil
3 TBS butter
1 tsp thyme
4 TBS dry vermouth
4 TBS plain flour
1 cup fish, chicken, or vegetable stock
1 cup milk
4 TBS half and half
2 TBS parsley
6 oz skinless salmon fillets
9 oz skinless cod or haddock fillets
5 oz shrimp
1 TBS lemon juice
salt and black pepper

Potato Topping:
750g (1.6 lbs) potatoes, peeled
1/3 cup butter, cubed
3 1/3 TBS milk
2 large eggs
3/4 cup medium Cheddar cheese, grated

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Bring a large salted pot of water to boil. Peel and cube potatoes into even chunks, and boil about 15 minutes, until easily pierced with a fork.
3. When the potatoes are tender, drain them and place in the bowl of a stand mixer. Blend gently, adding the cubed 1/3 cup butter and milk. Add in the eggs as well. Mix only until it reaches your desired consistency, or finish by hand if needed - over mixing will yield gluey potatoes. Add some salt and pepper for seasoning. 
4. While potatoes are boiling, heat a large skillet with the olive oil and butter and saute the diced onion with the thyme. After about 5 minutes (they should be starting to soften and brown), add in the vermouth and cook another couple minutes until the alcohol has reduced. Whisk in the flour. Then slowly whisk in the stock and the milk, allowing to simmer on low for a minute or two. It should be a fairly thick sauce, but if it's too thick you can thin with a little bit of additional stock. Taste and season with salt and pepper, as desired. Turn off the heat and stir in the half and half and the parsley.
5. Cut the fish fillets into large bite sized pieces.
6. In the bottom of a 2-quart baking dish, scatter the pieces of fish along with the shrimp. Sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper. Distribute the lemon juice over the top of the seafood.
7. Pour the prepared sauce over them and stir gently to combine.
8. Spread the prepared potatoes over the top and fluff with a fork, then sprinkle the cheese over the top.
9. Bake in the 400 degree oven for 10 minutes, then reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake another 20 minutes, or until the potatoes are evenly browned all over and pie is bubbly and piping hot, and seafood is cooked through.
10. Allow to rest 10 minutes before serving.