Fish pie

Fish pie, also known as fisherman's pie, is a traditional British dish. The pie is usually made with white, often smoked, fish (for example cod, haddock or halibut) in a white sauce or cheddar cheese sauce made using the milk the fish was poached in. Prawns and hard boiled eggs are other common additional ingredients. Parsley or chives are sometimes added to the sauce. It is oven-baked in a deep dish but is not usually made with the shortcrust or puff pastry casing that is associated with most savoury pies (e.g. steak and kidney pie).

Fish pie

Type	Savoury pie
Place of origin	Britain
Main ingredients	White fish, cheddar sauce, prawns, hard-boiled eggs
Cookbook: Fish pie

In place of a pastry casing enclosing the pie, a topping of mashed potatoes (sometimes with cheese or vegetables such as onions and leeks added) is used to cover the fish during baking. The dish is sometimes referred to as "fisherman's pie" because the topping is similar to that of shepherd's pie, in that it uses mashed potatoes.

Royal fish pie

The royal seafood tradition of England started in the time of Henry I, crowned in 1100, when cooks rolled crust over an annual Christmas lamprey pie. A separate tradition of Lenten fish pie required Yarmouth cooks to send the king two dozen pies containing 100 herrings.[1] The customary gifts of fish in crust prevailed in 1530, when the prior of Llanthony, Gloucester, baked eels and carp into a pie for Henry VIII. The presentation of the royal eel pie continued in 1752, when bakers sent one to the Prince of Wales, and again during Queen Victoria's reign.[2]

Gallery

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  The stargazy pie is a traditional Cornish pie made with the heads of pilchards protruding through the crust.
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  Fish pies are also popular in parts of Russia.
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  Fish pie with sweet potato topping

See also

• Stargazy pie
• Shepherd's pie, an unrelated meat-based dish which also uses potato instead of pastry
• List of pies, tarts and flans

Notes

1. Chambers Book of Days - February 24th, FISH AND FISH PIES IN LENT
2. Snodgrass ME (2004) Encyclopedia of Kitchen History Page 381. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 9781579583804.

References

• Murdoch (2004) Essential Seafood Cookbook Pies, casseroles and bakes, pp. 254–295. Murdoch Books. ISBN 9781740454124.

External links

• How to cook perfect fish pie The Guardian, 27 January 2011.
• Recipes for luxury fish pie and fisherman's pie from the BBC Food website.