February 26

Tags

FISH PIE (THERMOMIX)

Posted by on February 26, 2014 in Fish, Recipes, Thermomix | 1 Comment

I can’t abide leftovers. By that I mean, I do hate things sitting in the fridge and not being used only to be chucked away when they turn into ‘whew…what’s that smell’ when you open the door. So the dozen or so cooked prawns still sitting in the jellied stock from my ‘Shrimp ‘n’ Grits’ adventure were bugging me yesterday. And so, like the red shoes in the Wizard of Oz, they became the MacGuffin for the next installment in the epic journey that is My Life with a Thermomix.

All elements of the pie could of course be created in in the machine. The question was , in which order should I do them? I was focused on creating little to no washing up so opted for:

  1. Crispy herb and cheesy topping
  2. White sauce
  3. Mashed potato over which I’d steam the fish.

“Steam the fish!”, I hear you cry…”how can you commit such fish pie heresy? We poach in the milk.” Well, I don’t. As it’s all going in the oven for 30 minutes anyway, the fish becomes overcooked, so I barely cook it and think it is just as tasty and has a much better texture.

Does making it in the Thermomix save any time? Well, from end to end no, but I do love getting on with putting the washing on, laying the table, cleaning the bathroom and watching The Channel 4 News while it does the work. And honestly, I do believe it might have been the best fish pie I have ever made.

FISH PIE

Serves 3-4

Ingredients

For the topping

  • 1 thick slice of white bread
  • 1 handful of flat leaf parsley
  • 60g cheese (I used 30g pecorino, 30g gruyere)

For the White Sauce

  • 300g milk
  • 100g stock (veg, fish, chicken…whatever you wish)
  • 60g flour
  • 50g butter
  • salt, pepper and lemon juice to taste
  • 150g cod
  • 150g smoked haddock
  • 75g prawns

Mash

  • 750g peeled potatoes, chopped to 2-3cm pieces
  • 100g milk
  • 75g double cream
  • 25g butter
  • salt and pepper to taste

Method

  1. Preset the oven to 180C.
  2. Put all the ingredients for the topping into the Thermomix 10 seconds/speed 6. Set aside.
  3. Next add all the ingredients except the lemon juice for the white sauce into the Thermomix 90C/10 minutes/speed 4. Taste and adjust the seasoning with more salt and pepper and the lemon juice. Pour out the sauce into a jug, and using a spatula clean the inside of the bowl as best you can.
  4. Now for the mash; fill the jug with about 350g of water. Place the potatoes in the simmering basket and place over the water. Set to Varoma/20 mins/stir.
  5. Place the fish (and prawns if raw) in the steamer and place over the Thermomix. Remove after 7-10 minutes (the fish should have barely lost its translucency) and flake into a pie dish. Cover with the white sauce and refrigerate for 10 minutes to allow to set. This makes putting the mash on top a little easier.
  6. Check that the potatoes are cooked and drain the water from the Thermomix. Insert the butterfly with the cream, milk and butter. Add the potatoes and whizz 10 seconds/speed 4 or for longer depending on the texture you like.
  7. Spoon the potato in lumps over the fish and white sauce and smooth with a spatula. Add the reserved cheesy, herby crumbs and bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes until golden and bubbling. Leave to stand for 5 minutes and serve with green veggies to happy people.