Around the world in 80 dishes No. 35: Our special winter fish pie

Ingredients to serve 6

1.5kg good old potatoes
Big knob of butter
White pepper
100g Gruyère cheese, grated
1 litre fish stock (can use cubes)
4 tbsp dry vermouth
1 onion, peeled and roughly chopped
1 small bulb of fennel, cored and chopped
1 small carrot, peeled and chopped
1 small celery stick, chopped
1 bay leaf
Pinch of saffron
750g white fish
250g smoked haddock
200g salmon
120g raw prawns, unshelled
75g unsalted butter
75g plain flour
150ml whole milk
Large handful of finely chopped parsley
150ml double cream
4 hard-boiled eggs
125g leaf spinach, blanched and drained
25g ciabatta breadcrumbs
25g Parmesan cheese, grated
Sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Method

After eons of research, we have produced our version of a perennial favourite, fish pie. First cook the potatoes, then mash them with a big knob of butter and salt and white pepper to taste. Fold in the Gruyère and set aside.

Pour the fish stock into a pan and add the vermouth, onion, fennel, carrot, celery, bay leaf and saffron. Bring to the boil and simmer for 5 minutes. Carefully add the fish and prawns to this broth and poach for 3 minutes, then gently lift them out and set aside.

Strain the soggy vegetables and the herbs from the broth and bring it back to the boil. Simmer until reduced by half.

Preheat the oven to 180C/Gas 4. To make the parsley sauce, melt the 75g butter in a pan and mix in the flour to form a paste. Pour in the reduced stock, a little at a time, and keep whisking until smooth. Add the milk and the parsley, bring to the boil and simmer for 10 minutes to cook out the flour. Add the double cream and season to taste.

Flake the fish, discarding any skin and bones. Lay the fish and prawns in a buttered casserole dish and pour in about half the parsley sauce to cover the fish. Save the rest as a pouring sauce to serve with the pie.

Slice the hard-boiled eggs and lay them on top, followed by the spinach. Cover with the cold mashed potatoes in a rough-and-ready rustic fashion. Mix the ciabatta crumbs with the Parmesan and sprinkle on the top. Bake in the preheated oven until the pie is heated through and the topping is golden brown.

Taken from 'The Hairy Bikers' 12 Days of Christmas' by Si King and Dave Myers (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, £20).