Fish pie with saffron mash

Fish pie with saffron mash

A great dinner party dish. This can be made ahead and frozen so there's always something ready to entertain guests

Difficulty and servings

Moderately easy

Serves 6

Preparation and cooking times

Preparation time

Prep 30 mins

Cook time

Cook 1 hr 15 mins

Freezable

Method

  1. Tip the shallots and vinegar into a saucepan and place on the heat so the vinegar evaporates quickly. Splash in the white wine and reduce until practically dry. Add cream, bring to the boil, then simmer gently until reduced by two-thirds and very thick. Leave to cool. Cut the fish into bite-size chunks and set aside with the prawns.
  2. Tip spinach into a large colander and pour over boiling water from a kettle until all the spinach is wilted (you may need to do this more than once). Cool under the cold tap, then squeeze the spinach tightly to get rid of any excess liquid.
  3. To make the topping, mash the saffron, garlic and chilli together using a pestle and mortar. Tip into a saucepan with the milk, bring to the boil, then remove from the heat to infuse. Bring the potatoes to the boil and simmer for 15 mins until soft. Drain, then mash well with the infused milk, olive oil, lemon juice and zest.
  4. Heat oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6. To assemble the pie, mix the fish and prawns into the cold cream until completely coated. Tip the fish into the bottom of a large gratin dish and scatter over clumps of crabmeat. Unravel the spinach and lay it over the fish, then top with the mash. Cook the pie for about 30 mins until golden and starting to brown and bubble around the edges. Serve with green veg if you like.
Try

Make ahead

The pie can be assembled the day before and kept in the fridge. If the prawns have not been frozen before, the pie can be frozen, uncooked, for up to a month. Defrost completely in the fridge before cooking.

Per serving

683 kcalories, protein 51g, carbohydrate 42g, fat 35 g, saturated fat 15g, fibre 6g, sugar 7g, salt 1.36 g

Recipe from Good Food magazine, December 2007.

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Latest comments and suggestions

Results 1-20

  • Binder photo Sylvia

    2007-12-06 15:39:02.083027

    Sylvia rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Served this to a crowd - everyone agreed it was absolutely delicious - quite easy to make and convenient in that it can be prepared ahead

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  • Binder photo Jane

    2007-12-07 16:01:46.122627

    Jane commented on this recipe

    I can't see how many this is supposed to serve. Looks quite large: 6-8?

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  • Binder photo MsVanDeKamp

    2007-12-10 11:21:18.748054

    MsVanDeKamp rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    I made the mash to accompany something else and it was delicious!!! I will have to try it on the fish pie next time.

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  • Binder photo Val

    2008-01-07 18:12:19.457341

    Val commented on this recipe

    Made this for Christmas Eve and enjoyed it so much will make again for a dinner party

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  • Binder photo Nessy

    2008-01-24 15:28:39.434871

    Nessy commented on this recipe

    I made this just before Christmas for my Dad who is a very fussy eater but he absolutely loved it. I couldn't get any crabmeat so substituted with extra prawns. I'm definitely going to make this dish again. Yummy!

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  • Binder photo alfie

    2008-01-29 09:22:43.944259

    alfie rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    I did a sort of mix between this recipe and the cornish fish pie on this site by olive magazine, so it had cos, haddock, prawns, leeks and parsley. No spinach. Oh I also toped with Parmesan. Anyway, we loved it, especially Barney's posh mash topping

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  • Binder photo Marika

    2008-02-04 12:21:37.627499

    Marika commented on this recipe

    Wonderful, flavoursome meal. Infact we were fighting over the prawns. The lemon in the mash adds a wonderful zing, with the heat and spice of the chilli. Makes a fantastic supper when you have friends round.

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  • Binder photo dawn

    2008-03-27 09:33:54.326914

    dawn commented on this recipe

    made this for good friday supper party, rthought it was excellent although v fiddly, live is too short to wilt four colanders full of spinach with kettle being boiled half a dozen times!! also added smoked haddock which really enhanced the dish, would make it again and again though everyone was v impressed. no weight measure for potato though so guessed luckily i wasnt far off!!

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  • Binder photo louisa

    2008-03-31 12:42:21.242143

    louisa rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Absolutely delicious. Really tasty and not as rich as I thought it would be, the mash was fantastic, would definitely make it again.

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  • Binder photo Petra

    2008-04-01 12:02:36.011197

    Petra rated this recipe

    4 stars

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  • Binder photo Kathleen

    2008-05-02 17:07:46.952161

    Kathleen commented on this recipe

    I added scallops instead of crab and the f inished result was excellent. However personally I felt that the saffron mash overpowered the creamy fish and spinach. Next time I will just put creamed mash on the top. Nevertheless everyone enjoyed it !!

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  • Binder photo Caroline

    2008-05-14 12:53:53.308791

    Caroline rated and commented on this recipe

    4 stars

    It was nice but not fishy enough for me. Also I love garlic but would say use less garlic and lemon for the saffron mash.

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  • Binder photo Sara

    2008-06-07 10:27:40.016224

    Sara commented on this recipe

    This recipe was taken from the Dec O7 issue. The quantity of potatoes is listed in here and it is 1.25Kg/2lb 12oz

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  • Binder photo Constance

    2008-06-17 13:06:05.213806

    Constance commented on this recipe

    This was absolutely delicious! I've never thought there was any reason to pre-cook fish when making fish pie. It cooks perfectly in the luscious sauce. I bought pre-washed bags of baby spinach and zapped them in microwave and then just squeezed out excess water. The lemon adds a fabulous zing to the spicy potato topping. The beauty is it can all be prepared in advance. Very impressive for a dinner party.

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  • Binder photo redaurigny

    2008-07-01 23:48:18.574644

    redaurigny rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    As usual I made double portions - one for the freezer and one for now. Fresh prawns can be hard to find unless they are catch of the day if, like me, you live out in the sticks. It worked very well despite no crab. I think I would opt for less garlic and lemon and definately less chilli, in the mash, but otherwise it worked an absolute treat. Will definately make it again. As always, clear freezing instructions are always very welcome.

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  • Binder photo Bramble

    2008-08-04 20:21:30.531647

    Bramble rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Made this several times, always a hit, have made it with and without spinach both good. I'm sure I will cook this many more times. Great dinner party food

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  • Binder photo Viv1945

    2008-10-22 23:46:30.670103

    Viv1945 commented on this recipe

    Made this for our monthly Club Lunch and as was not sure if some people might be allergic to crab substituted cubes of salmon trout instead and added a little salt to both the sauce and the mash. Went down a bomb and many more people will be cooking this recipe.

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  • Binder photo siai

    2008-11-21 20:33:22.593901

    siai rated and commented on this recipe

    3 stars

    Tasted fine except it came out rather wet (is it suppose to?). I squeezed out the excess liquid from the spinach, prawns were fully defrosted, the fish pat dry, the cream just coated the fish and prawns... Basically did everything to ensure a creamy rather than soggy wet pie. Did anyone else have the same problem?

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  • Binder photo Linda

    2008-12-10 16:46:40.658421

    Linda commented on this recipe

    Having read all the wonderful reviews for this dish I was very disappointed. I too followed the instructions carefully, patted dry the fish and squeezed out the spinach and yet the sauce was very liquid. I must have done something wrong but what was it?

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  • Binder photo Hoggy

    2009-01-09 10:53:54.780908

    Hoggy rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    As a relative beginner to cooking found this relatively easy to make. Totally amazed at how well it turned out (but not as much as my partner, she was very impressed!!). Tasted fantastic, only suggestion as made before, go easy on the lemon and make sure you squeeze the spinach out thoroughly.

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Difficulty and servings

Moderately easy

Serves 6

Preparation and cooking times

Preparation time

Prep 30 mins

Cook time

Cook 1 hr 15 mins

Freezable

Posh comfort food

Ingredients

  • 3 shallots , finely chopped
  • 3 tbsp white wine vinegar
  • 150ml white wine
  • 142ml pot double cream
  • 900g fresh haddock fillets, skinned
  • 200g bag raw, peeled prawns , preferably unfrozen
  • 800g fresh spinach (about 2 bags)
  • 200g crabmeat

FOR THE TOPPING

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Per serving

683 kcalories, protein 51g, carbohydrate 42g, fat 35 g, saturated fat 15g, fibre 6g, sugar 7g, salt 1.36 g

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