A mix of comfort and gourmet, this Seafood Pie has salmon, prawns, mussels, and scallops in a creamy sauce, covered with mashed potatoes

A cosy and warm Christmas

Are we seriously in December again? We must be, because I can sense the Christmas frenzy when I’m out shopping, and it’s only going to intensify as the big day approaches. Just yesterday we were facing soaring heat. It reached almost 40 degrees, giving us the first taste of summer. Instead of relaxing at the beach with a cold cocktail, I’m making a warm Seafood Pie for a non-existent white Christmas.

Speaking of shopping, my 4-year-old, Kai and I made a recent trip to stock up on groceries at Costco. As you would probably guess, shopping with little ones is always fun. Kai’s currently embracing his social side and wants to chat (really loudly) with everyone who passes by. He also thinks it’s funny to alternate between riding the trolley to walking every 5 minutes!

After an hour of shopping and dealing with Kai, I just wanted to get out of there. Except that didn’t happen because I couldn’t find our Costco receipt. I could see workers eagerly asking customers for their proof of receipt by the exit. The receipt was in Kai’s little hand when I last saw it, so I told the truth and blamed him 😂

The worker called for their manager over the loudspeaker. I felt slightly embarrassed, but Kai was having a ball, as the workers were doting on him. When the manager arrives, he points to her badge and screams, ‘WHAT DOES THAT SAY?’. ‘Do you know what it says?’ she asked sweetly, clearly under his spell. ‘COSTCOOO!!!!’ he beams proudly. This cracked everyone up and with that, she told the workers to let us go. Ultimately, cuteness prevails!

This is a slight variation of a classic fish pie, but I named it Seafood Pie because I went overboard with the seafood. Christmas is just around the corner, isn’t it? So the more the merrier! Here we have chunky pieces of salmon, prawns, mussels, and scallops nestled in creamy white sauce topped with buttery cheesy mashed potato. A gourmet pie, but still comforting nonetheless!

Seafood Pie

This Seafood Pie needs a little love. Yes, that’s my code for saying this pie will take a while to prepare because there’s a few steps involved. A dish that is worthy for special occasions only, such as Christmas! The good news is, each step is straightforward, just as long as you have time and patience. Hey, I don’t even have that, but heck, I still got it done! So I’m sure you will too.

Why do we need to Poach the seafood?

Poaching the seafood in milk is essential for a few reasons. It gets rid of excess moisture from the seafood. It keeps the seafood tender when baked. The poaching milk will taste better because it’ll soak up the flavours of the ingredients it’s cooked with. We will then use the poaching milk to make our creamy sauce.

What fish should I use in a Seafood Pie?

I’d suggest a fish with a semi-firm flesh since this is a chunky pie. Salmon, perch, monkfish, cod, haddock, halibut, tilapia, barramundi, snapper, cod, or ocean trout are good for choices. In saying that if you don’t mind flaky fish pie, you could use whatever fish you like as long as it’s skinless and boneless. For a different taste profile, you could mix some smoked fish into your pie, such as smoked cod.

What seafood should I use in this pie?

I used a mix of salmon, prawns, mussels and scallops. Apart from the salmon, they were all frozen but thawed before cooking.

You don’t have to use all the same seafood as I did and change the ratios of the seafood. If you just want to make a fish pie, all you have to do is swap out the seafood for fish with equal amounts. For this recipe, this would be 1050gm / 2.3lb of fish. You could also mix your own ratio of seafood, such as 60:40 fish to prawns. Ugh, ratios and calculations make me feel like I’m back in school 😴

More tasty Christmas inspirations:

Ingredients for Seafood Pie

For the poaching milk and seafood

Fish – I used skinless and boneless salmon, but any fish with semi-firm texture is good, such as perch, monkfish, cod, haddock, halibut, tilapia, barramundi, snapper, cod, or ocean trout. In saying that if you don’t mind flaky fish pie, you could use whatever fish you like as long as it’s skinless and boneless. For a different taste profile, you could also mix in some smoked fish into your pie, such as smoked cod.

Seafood – I used a mix of salmon, prawns, mussels and scallops. Apart from the salmon, they were all frozen but thawed before cooking. You don’t have to use all the same seafood as I did and change the ratios of the seafood. If you just want to make a fish pie, all you have to do is swap out the seafood for fish with equal amounts. For this recipe, this would be 1050gm / 2.3lb of fish. You could also mix your own ratio of seafood, such as 60:40 fish to prawns.

Milk – Use full cream or whole milk, otherwise the fish pie may end up being watery after it’s baked.

For the creamy sauce

Plain flour (All-purpose flour) doesn’t have salt or leavening agents like baking powder.

Double cream has a high fat content of around 50% fat. It is made by skimming the top layer of cream from cow’s milk, resulting in a thicker and creamier consistency compared to other kinds of cream.

For the mashed potato topping

Potatoes – Starchy potatoes are best for mashed potatoes such as Coliban, Desiree, Dutch Cream, Sebago, Maris Piper, King Edward, Russet or Yukon Gold.

Cheese – Any variety of melting cheese would work. Swiss, Monterey Jack, and all cheddars are great choices. It’s worth the effort to grate your cheese instead of buying pre-shredded ones with anti-caking agents. These agents may prevent the cheese from melting smoothly once heated.

How to make Seafood Pie

Step-by-step guide with photos

Poaching milk – Pour in the milk and fish stock to a medium-sized saucepan. Add in onion, thyme, bay leaves and cloves, then heat over medium heat until the mixture is about to simmer. Reduce the heat to low and poach the salmon for 1 minute, then remove with a slotted spoon or strainer, then transfer to a colander. Repeat this process with the prawns, mussels and scallops.

Strain the poaching milk to separate the solids. Discard the solids and set the poaching milk aside as we’ll be using it to make our sauce.

Use a clean tea towel or paper towels to pat the poached seafood dry and avoid a watery pie. Place the seafood at the base of a large baking dish (approx: 30 x 19 x 6 cm / 12 x 8 x 2.5 in). Carefully arrange the seafood in the dish so that each person gets a good selection of seafood in their pie.

For the creamy sauce

Melt the butter in a large deep frying pan over medium heat, then add in the garlic and onions. Sauté for 2 minutes, then add the carrots and celery, then cook for 5 minutes or until the carrots have softened. Stir through the flour, then pour in half of the poaching milk. Once the mixture becomes sticky and gooey, add the remaining milk. Reduce the heat to low and stir in the cream, and add the salt and pepper, then simmer for 5 minutes. If the sauce looks too thin, scatter 1 to 3 teaspoon of flour (a tsp at a time to see thickness) over the surface then mix it in. The sauce should be thick enough to hug the seafood. Have a taste, then add more salt and pepper to your liking if needed. Remove from heat and stir in the parsley.

Pour the sauce over the prepared seafood dish, then level the surface using a spatula.

For the mashed potatoes

Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F). Place the potatoes in a saucepan, then add 1 tbsp of salt and cover with water until they’re submerged by an inch. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to medium and cook until the potatoes are they’re very tender. Strain the potatoes into a colander, then leave them in there for 5 minutes. The hot steam will help dry the potatoes.

Use a potato ricer or masher to mash the potatoes. Add in the butter and milk, then mix until smooth. Place in the egg yolks and salt, then mix to combine. Place the mash over the seafood and level the surface, then use a fork to rough it up by doing swirls. Sprinkle the cheese over the mash. Bake for 35 minutes or until the top is nice and golden.

How to store Seafood Pie

Leftovers – Allow the Seafood Pie to cool completely at room temperature, then transfer them into a sealed container and store them in the fridge for up to 2 days.

I’ve used a third-party application to calculate the calories and nutritional information, so please use this as an approximate guide only.

Cooking measurements are in Australian standard spoon and cup measurements. For specific details and conversions, visit our Australian Cooking Measurements page.

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Cheers – Cat T