Seafood Pie (luxury version of a fish pie)
A mix of comfort and gourmet, this Seafood Pie has salmon, prawns, mussels, and scallops in a creamy sauce, covered with mashed potatoes.
Video
Ingredients
- 500ml / 17floz (2 cups) full cream milk / whole milk (NOTE 1)
- 250ml / 8 floz (1 cup) fish stock
- 1 brown onion (skin on and halved)
- 2 thyme sprigs
- 2 dried bay leaves
- 4 whole cloves
- 450gm / 16oz salmon (boneless and skinless) (NOTE 2)
- 200gm / 7oz raw prawns without shells (cleaned) (NOTE 3)
- 200gm / 7oz scallops (roe removed) (NOTE 3)
- 200gm / 7oz mussels (cleaned) (NOTE 3)
FOR THE CREAMY SAUCE
- 60gm / 2oz unsalted butter
- 4 garlic cloves (minced)
- 1 small (110gm / 4oz) onion (finely chopped)
- 1 medium (150g / 5oz) carrot (peeled and diced finely)
- 1 large (60gm / 2oz) celery (finely diced)
- ⅓ cup plain flour (or a little more) (NOTE 4)
- ⅓ cup (85gm / 3oz) double cream (NOTE 5)
- 2 tbsp parsley (finely chopped)
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper
FOR MASHED POTATO TOPPING
- 750gm /1.7lb potatoes (chopped into large chunks) (NOTE 6)
- 80g / 3oz unsalted butter (small cubes)
- 3 tbsp (60ml / 2floz) full cream milk
- 2 large egg yolks
- ¼ tsp salt
- 100gm / 4oz shredded cheddar cheese (NOTE 7)
Instructions
- 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.
- 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.
Notes
(NOTE 1) Milk - Use full cream or whole milk, otherwise the fish pie may end up being watery after it's baked.
(NOTE 2) 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.
(NOTE 3) 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.
(NOTE 4) Plain flour (All-purpose flour) doesn't have salt or leavening agents like baking powder.
(NOTE 5) 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.
(NOTE 6) Potatoes - Starchy potatoes are best for mashed potatoes such as Coliban, Desiree, Dutch Cream, Sebago, Maris Piper, King Edward, Russet or Yukon Gold.
(NOTE 7) 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.
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.
Nutrition
Serving: 1 ServingCalories: 686kcalCarbohydrates: 42gProtein: 39gFat: 41gSaturated Fat: 22gPolyunsaturated Fat: 4gMonounsaturated Fat: 11gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 252mgSodium: 1019mgPotassium: 1461mgFiber: 5gSugar: 9gVitamin A: 5672IUVitamin C: 34mgCalcium: 350mgIron: 3mg