Great Gold in Fish Pie

Recently pouring over Nigella Lawson's How to Eat, the book fell flat open to fish pie. I clearly stopped at this page often. The dish takes me back to when I lived in London. My boyfriend's grandmother, who put us up that year, made it a couple of times a month, and it would unfailingly blow me away. Mouthfuls of fish in a lovely sauce always will.

"I love the sound of this pie," says Laurie. "Cod, haddock, salmon and shrimp are available year round, and saffron is a wonderful ingredient that really enhances fish. It'll be like sneaking a bit of comfort food before we move into the hotter weather."

Here are some helpful extras: a great site on bouquet garnis and video on making roux.

For a wine match, it's off to Glenn Barley of Stem Wine Group.

What are we drinking with this, Glenn?

"As a good foil for the cream, I'd go with the Woolshed Sauvignon Blanc. It's from Australia's Victoria region in the south. It's got tart lime characteristics, and you'll find it to be a familiar flavour, since this is the grape, originating in Bordeaux, that North Americans have been drinking in popular French white wines since the '60s. It's worth noting that Australians typically export wine from the Adelaide region, in the west, and prefer Victoria wines for themselves."

Questions about the fish, the recipe or the wine? Contact steph at ortenzi dot ca.
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Saffron Fish Pie

1 large peeled carrot
1/2 cup white wine
1/2 cup water
bouquet garnis
2 1/2 lb Yukon gold potatoes
1/2 cup unsalted butter
8 oz EACH of cod, haddock and salmon
4 oz. cooked peeled shrimp
4 oz. cream [approx]
4 Tbsp flour
pinch saffron
freshly grated nutmeg

• Turn the potatoes into mash, adding about half of the butter to finish them, and set aside.
• Cut carrots into large chunks and with wine, water, salt and bouquet garnis to a pot where the fish can be comfortably poached.
• Cut the fish into large, even chunks.
• Bring the pot to a boil and poach the fish in batches [about 3 minutes], and set aside to cool.
• Strain the liquid into a large measuring cup and top it up with enough cream to reach just under a litre. [Reserve the bouquet.]
• Make a roux.
• Stir in the cream mixture, add the bouquet and cook for about 5 minutes or so, and let it cool.
• To prepare for baking, lay the fish in the dish. Remove the bouquet from the sauce and pour over the fish.
• Cover with mashed potato, forming a seal, so that the cream won't bubble over while cooking.
• Lightly grate some fresh nutmeg on top.
• Bake in a preheated oven at 375F for 30 minutes or until fully heated through.

Image courtesy Henna via Creative Commons.