Captain’s Fish Pie

Serves 4

400g skinless white fish fillet

400g skinless smoked haddock fillet

600ml full fat milk

1 small onion, quartered

2 bay leaves

4 eggs

Small bunch of parsley finely chopped

100g butter

50g plain flour

Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg

1kg floury potato, peeled and cut into even-sized chunks

50g cheddar cheese, grated

Poach the fish. Put the fish in the frying pan and pour over 500ml of the milk.  Add the onion and bay leaves to the milk.  Bring the milk just to the boil.  Reduce heat and simmer for 8 minutes.  Lift the fish out and strain the milk into a jug to cool.  Flake the fish into large pieces in the baking dish.

Hard-boil the eggs.  Bring a small pan of water to a gentle boil, then lower the eggs in.  Bring the water back to a boil, then lower the eggs in and cook for 8 minutes. Cool in a bowl of cold water. Peel and slice and arrange over the fish, then scatter over the chopped parsley.

To make the sauce, melt half the butter in a pan, stir in the flour and cook for 1 min over a gentle heat. Take off the heat, pour in a little of the milk, then stir until blended. Continue to add the milk gradually, mixing well until you have a smooth sauce. Return to the heat, bring to the boil and cook for 5 mins, stirring continually. Remove from the heat, season with salt, pepper and nutmeg, then pour over the fish.

Heat oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6. Boil the potatoes for 20 mins. Drain, season and mash with the remaining butter and milk. Top the pie with the mash, sprinkle with cheese, then bake for 30 mins.