As I was wandering around the supermarket AGAIN today, a beautiful piece of cod caught my eye. Well, it would you see, cod is a very British fish, it loves the cold waters of the North Sea. I remember it well, lovingly wrapped in a thick crispy batter accompanied with chips (fries), drenched in malt vinegar and about 1/2 lb of salt. Fish and Chips - a British favorite. I couldn't quite bring myself to deep fry this lovely, glistening beauty (and any cardiologist would thank me), so I went for the next best thing, fish pie. As with Shepherd's Pie, I truly believe that peas and ketchup are an absolute essential with this dish.

• 1 1/2 lbs of firm fleshed fish, such as cod, haddock, salmon


• 1/2 lb of shelled cleaned shrimp


• 3 1/2 cups of milk


• 1/4 cup of cream


• 1/4 cup of white wine


• 2 bay leaves


• salt and pepper


• zest and juice of a lemon


• 3 tablespoons of butter


• 1/3 cup of all purpose flour


• 1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg


• 1 generous tablespoon of chopped fresh parsley

• 4-5 medium potatoes, washed and peeled and quartered


• 2 tablespoons of butter


• 2 oz of grated cheddar cheese


• scant 1/4 cup of milk


• salt and pepper

• Put a large pot of water on to boil, prepare your potatoes and pop them in the pot. Cook for approximately 15 - 20 minutes until soft. Drain, add the butter, cheese, milk and seasoning. Mash and set aside.

• Place the fish in a large pan so that it can fit in one layer. Pour over the milk, cream, wine, add the zest and juice of the lemon, bay leaves, salt and pepper and 1 tablespoon of the parsley.

• Place the pan on the stove top and turn the heat to medium, once the liquid is simmering turn it down to low. Cook for approximately 10- 15 minutes or until the fish is almost cooked through. Add the shrimp and cook for a further 5 minutes or so until the shrimp and fish are cooked.

• Gently transfer the fish and the shrimp to an ovenproof casserole dish (about 10 x 8 x 2 1/2). Break the fish into large chunks. Cover while you make the sauce.

• Pour the poaching liquid into a measuring jug to use for the sauce.

• In a medium pan melt 3 tablespoons of butter, when fully melted add 1/3 cup of flour and stir vigorously, slowly add the poaching liquid about a tablespoon at a time until you have used about 3 cups. You should have a lovely smooth sauce that thickly coats the back of a wooden spoon. If it is too thick add more liquid. If you find you have liquid leftover, don't worry, pour it into a freezer proof container, mark it "fish stock for chowder" and put it in the freezer. We will get to "chowder" another day - yum).

• Pour the sauce over the fish and shrimp and gently mix, being careful not to break the fish up too much.

• Spoon over the mashed potato, fully sealing the edges and top with the potato. Make a pretty pattern on the potato with a fork and pop under the broiler until golden brown.

• Let the fish pie "sit" after it comes out from under the broiler for about 10 minutes so it firms up nicely and then serve with peas and ketchup.