I make a quick "cheats* fish pie. Nothing like yo do SRD but everyone loves it. I poach cod and smoked haddock in milk with an onion, bay leafs and pepper corn in the microwave. When its cooked I flake the fish, skin removed. Chopp up half the onion that was in the milk. Remove pepper corns and bayleaf. I use that milk to make a cheese sauce with a teaspoon of English mustard in it. Mix it all up then put mash on it and bake till the mash is golden. If I have prawns in that need using I add them too.
I dont make it but I really like Aldis Basa in tempura batter. But what I have read about Basa is a bit off putting.
I've not come across basa, probably because I only buy fresh fish, but if wiki is anything to go by I'd be more inclined to think that negative comments about it are more to do with American protectionism than much else; the import of cheap basa has decimated their catfish industry. It would appear that the fish has been thoroughly tested in this country with virtually no contaminants found and salmon and trout have a pretty bad reputation for the state of the water they're farmed in and, as I've said before, the best cod is always to be found at the sewage outfalls.
I would, however, treat with suspicion the idea that food companies are using basa as part of a cod protection programme but feel that, in reality, it has more to do with the cheapness of it.
I do a fish pie too, with salmon, cod or hoki. I tend to buy it frozen and only defrost it enough to be able to cut up into chunks - that way I don't overcook the fish. I add peas and chopped onions, then I make a white sauce and top with mashed spuds. I don't add cheese, as my other half hates it. It tends to vary according to what we've got in, and whether there's anything needing eaten up. Sometimes I put loads of parsley in the sauce or the spuds. I might do it with mashed jerusalem artechokes instead!
Snoopysue
Logic merely enables one to be wrong with authority.
Another reasonably easy sauce/vegetable dish for plain grilled or steamed white fish: Cut some fennel into 5mm dice (about the size of a pea), put in a saucepan with just enough water to cover and bring to the boil, add a similar volume of frozen peas and return to the boil, cook for a few seconds and pour in a good dollop of double cream, mix well and bring back to the boil. Season with salt and white pepper and pour over the fish.
If using fresh peas put them into the pan at the same time as the fennel. Those with a dairy intolerance can use a little more water and thicken with some slaked cornflour but you may want to remove the cooked veg before thickening the sauce and return them once the flour has cooked out so as not to overcook them.
That sounds lovely, SRD, I haven't made a fish pie for ages, but mine is basically any white fish poached in the microwave, then a parsley sauce made with the poaching liqour and milk, and I too use cornflour to thicken. Then mix it all up, put chopped hard-boiled eggs on top, then finish off with mashed potato. I'm going to try growing fennel at the allotment this summer, so if it's successful, I'll try your method!
These fish recipes sound really lovely. A question: Is it fennel that's got a sort of perfumy, aniseedy flavour? Or am I getting it mixed up with something else. Some time last year I had fish (can't remember which type) at a restaurant with a tomatoe type sauce and on the plate as a veg was this perfumy, aniseedy veg, which I absolutely hated. Spoilt me meal.
