FISH PIE WITH SCALLOPS PRAWNS SMOKED HADDOCK AND TOPPED WITH LOBSTER MASH

Sumptuous rich creamy velvety comforting fish pie a true hug on a spoon, my family loves to eat food that makes you feel sheer joy with every spoonful, needless to say it’s awfully quite round the diner table when I serve this diner up.  Rich infused creamy haddock cheese bechamel layered with haddock, prawns and scallops, topped with a sumptuous buttery creamy lobster mash, what’s not to love!

Ingredients 

1 lobster cooked and out of the shell

1 kg natural smoked haddock

12 large raw tiger prawns

6 scallops cleaned roe removed

50g butter

50ml olive oil

300g mature cheddar grated

50g Guyere grated

50g Emmental grated

1 kg potatoes peeled and cut in half

250g butter

100ml double cream

Sea salt and white pepper

1 tbsp white wine vinegar

100g finely grated Parmesan cheese

The Roux Bechamel

50g butter

1 heaped tbsp flour

1.5 ltr gold top Jersey full fat milk

150ml double cream

First place the potatoes in a deep pan of cold water with a pinch of salt, bring to a boil and simmer for around 20 minutes until fork tender, drain and leave to steam dry in the colander on the side for 10 minutes, place the butter in the saucepan you boiled the potatoes in and place back on a very low heat until the butter has half melted, add the potatoes, double cream, white wine vinegar, salt and pepper and mash well and fold through the chopped chunky lobster and Parmesan cheese.

Place 500ml of milk and 300ml of water to a almost simmer, place the haddock skin side down in the milk and the whole prawns and leave to cook gently for around 5 minutes, remove once cooked and leave to cool then with the haddock peel the skin off and flake in to large chunks removing any bones and take the shells off the prawns, reserve the fish to one side.  Strain the poaching liquid and keep to one side for the roux sauce.

Next cook the scallops, heat a cast iron skillet medium hot, add the olive oil and butter, once foaming place the scallops in and sear each side for around 1 minute only on each side only Turing once, spoon the oil and butter over the scallops while cooking, remove and reserve to one side.

Next make the roux, melt the butter gently, add the flour and whisk smooth, cook on a low heat for 3 minutes then start to add the reserved poaching milk 200ml at a time then the gold top milk whisking each time to a smooth consistency, once you have a nice medium thick sauce stop adding the milk, add the double cream and cook the sauce on a low heat stirring almost constantly for 20 minutes then add the cheeses and stir until melted and smooth, season to taste.

Now to assemble the pie, place a couple of ladels of the bechamel sauce  in the bottom of your pie tin, then layer in half of the haddock, prawns and scallops, add a thin layer of the mashed potatoes then another couple of ladels of the bechamel sauce, repeat with the fish, more bechamel and then top the pie with the lobster Parmesan mash, a further dusting of Parmesan is optional here.

Bake for 30-40 minutes until piping hot in the centre and enjoy this gorgeous comforting spoon food.