This recipe is from Matt Wilson – Cherie Metcalfe’s boyfriend – and is included in her latest cookbook Potluck.
Cherie: His “famous fish pie that is super amazing”. I’ve been asking him to make it for me for years and he never has. Apparently I keep him too busy. We finally made it ourselves for this book and, turns out, it’s pretty epic. You can leave out the prawns, but the combo of smoked fish and poached fish is what really makes it.
Serves 4
Ingredients:
Mash topping
900g floury potatoes, peeled and quartered
⅓ cup milk
2 egg yolks
30g butter
Fish filling
2 cups milk
200g white fish fillets
200g raw king prawns, halved
100g smoked salmon trimmings
Herb Sauce
25g butter
2 tablespoons plain flour
1 cup reserved poaching milk
1 cup chicken or vegetable stock
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon Man Grind Flakes
Cracked black pepper, to taste Small bunch parsley, chopped
Small bunch tarragon, chopped
Instructions:
Place the potatoes in a large pot of cold salted water, bring to the boil, and cook for about 15 minutes until soft. Drain well, then mash or rice until smooth. Stir through the milk, egg yolks and butter, season to taste, and set aside.
Preheat the oven to 180°C fan bake.
For the filling, pour the milk into a saucepan and bring to a very gentle simmer.
Add the white fish fillets, raw king prawns and smoked salmon trimmings and poach for 4 minutes. Remove the fish, flake into chunks, and set aside. Reserve 1 cup of the poaching milk.
For the Herb Sauce, melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the flour and cook for 1–2 minutes.
Gradually whisk in the reserved poaching milk, followed by the stock and mix until smooth. Add the nutmeg, Man Grind Flakes and cracked black pepper.
Cook gently until thickened, then remove from the heat. Stir through the herbs, then fold in the flaked fish, prawns and smoked salmon.
Divide the mixture between four pie dishes. Spoon or pipe the mash over the top, spreading evenly.
Bake for 15–20 minutes until golden and piping hot.
What do you bring when someone says the very Kiwi words: “Please bring a plate”?
That’s the idea behind Potluck, the fourth cookbook from chef and Bay of Plenty entrepreneur Cherie Metcalfe – founder of Pepper & Me – and a celebration of 10 years of the brand.
Potluck features 84 recipes from Cherie, her family, friends, staff, suppliers and Pepper & Me fans around New Zealand – all inspired by the people, food and flavours that have filled the Pepper & Me table over the past decade.
