Indian Fish Pie

This came about because I had defrosted a whole lot of fish for the week but our evenings didn’t quite work with my original plan, and we were going on holiday so it had to be used up. As Michael isn’t always a great fish lover, giving it a bit of a kick often helps to make it more interesting for him. Feel free to play around with the fish used and the quantities, I only ask you to please use sustainably sourced fish and seafood. 

Ingredients 

For the filling:

• 240g cod fillet 
• 250g salmon fillet 
• 1 pack raw king prawns 
• 200g smoked haddock fillet 
• 1 cup of frozen peas 
• 1/4 pint organic, whole milk 
• 1 can coconut milk
• 2 tsp garam masala
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 2 red chillies, halved lengthways and stalk removed
• 2 tsp chilli flakes, or to taste
• 1 white onion, sliced  
• 2 cloves garlic, sliced
• 1/2 bunch fresh coriander, roughly chopped 
• salt and pepper 
• ghee or avocado oil

For the mash topping:

• 1 large cauliflower, cut into chunks 
• 1 tbsp turmeric
• a couple knobs of butter
• salt and pepper 
• grated cheddar, as much as you want

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees
2. Heat a wide pan with oil and throw in the onions to sweat gently. Once done, add in the garlic, garam masala, cumin and chilli flakes to become fragrant. 
3. Add in the milks and stir so that all the flavours come together before poaching the fish, bringing it to a gentle simmer
4. Gently place the fish in batches into the milk, turning the heat down so there are no visible simmering bubbles 
5. In a separate pie dish, throw in the raw prawns, peas, fresh chilli and fresh coriander. I also used the stalks from the cauliflower too 
6. As each fillet becomes firmer, gently place into the pie dish and poach the rest. Don’t worry if the fish isn’t fully cooked all the way through here as it can finish cooking in the oven
7. Now, get the cauliflower in the steamer. Depending on the steamer and size of the chunks, it’ll take around 10mins for it to become tender. Test by sticking a fork into it - it should easily pierce without being too soft 
8. Once all the fish is poached, season and turn the heat up on the milk to a simmer so that it can reduce and become a creamy sauce
9. When the cauliflower is done, put into a food processor with all the other ingredients and whizz until it becomes a mash. Entirely up to you how chunky or smooth you like yours. 
10. Pour the thick sauce into the pie dish, and gently cut the fish into large-ish chunks with a wooden spoon. Be careful not to flake the fish too much
11. Tip the mash into the centre of the fish mixture and work it slowly towards the edges with a wooden spoon so it’s evenly covered. Then sprinkle with cheese 
12. Place in the oven for 25 mins. If you’re after a crispier top, put under the grill for a few minutes