Fish Pie

NZ Herald 25/7/2011

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Leftover smoked fish can be made into a tasty fish pie.

(You can click on ingredients to see more related recipes)

400 g	Smoked fish, or whatever you have left over
3 cups	Milk
½	Onion, sliced
1	Bay leaf
3	Black peppercorns
300 g	Mixed vegetables, or more, combine carrot slices, celery slices, diced onion, fennel slices, frozen peas, some spinach or silverbeet leaves
3 tbsp	Butter
½ cup	Flour
1 handful	Fresh herbs, parsley, dill or chives
1 optional	Lemon, zest
3	Potatoes, cooked and sliced

Pick over the fish, being careful to remove any bones.
Put 3 cups of milk into a large saucepan and warm. Add some onion slices, a bay leaf, a few peppercorns and allow to infuse for 10 mins.
Strain out the aromatics and use this milk to poach any vegetables you might want to include in the pie - carrot slices, celery slices, diced onion, fennel slices, frozen peas, some spinach or silverbeet leaves, whatever you fancy and have on hand.
Strain the contents when your vegetables have just cooked, reserving the milk.
Put your fish and vegetables into a casserole dish.
Make a white sauce with 3 tablespoons of butter, half a cup of flour and the warm milk. Pour this over the fish mixture, season well and add chopped parsley, dill or chives and maybe some lemon zest.
Arrange slices of cooked potatoes across the top of the pie, brush with oil and bake for 30 mins in a moderate oven (or you can use leftover mashed potato for your topping.

NB: Any whole fish may be used but it needs to be fleshy. Salmon works beautifully.