Smoked Haddock and Egg Pie

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •1.5-litre ovenproof dish
• •Wide shallow pan for poaching
• •Potato masher
• •Medium saucepan for the sauce

Instructions

1. 1

   Poach the haddock

   Lay the haddock in a wide pan, skin side down. Pour over the milk, tuck in the bay leaves and peppercorns, and set it over a gentle heat. You want the milk to barely tremble, not boil. Let it poach for eight to ten minutes, until the flesh has turned from translucent to opaque and flakes easily when you press it with a fork. Lift the fish out onto a plate and set the poaching milk aside. Every drop of that milk goes into the sauce. It's where the flavour lives.

   Look for undyed haddock. The bright yellow fillets have been coloured artificially and taste no better for it. The natural stuff is pale and creamy, and the smoke flavour is usually finer.
2. 2

   Boil the eggs and potatoes

   While the fish poaches, get the eggs into boiling water for nine minutes, then straight into cold water to stop them cooking further. Peel when cool enough to handle and halve lengthways. Put the potatoes in a large pan of salted cold water, bring to a simmer, and cook until they offer no resistance to a knife. Drain well and let them steam dry in the colander for a minute or two. Wet potatoes make gluey mash, and gluey mash on top of a pie is a sorry thing.

3. 3

   Make the parsley sauce

   Melt the 40g of butter in a saucepan over a medium heat. When it foams, add the flour and stir constantly for a minute or so until you have a smooth, sandy paste that smells biscuity rather than raw. Now add the strained poaching milk, a ladleful at a time, stirring well between each addition. The first couple go in and the mixture seizes up alarmingly. Keep stirring. Keep adding. It will come together into a smooth, glossy sauce that coats the back of a spoon. Let it simmer gently for five minutes to cook out the flour, stirring now and then. Stir in the parsley and the lemon juice. Season carefully. The haddock brings salt of its own, so taste before you add more.

   If lumps appear, don't panic. Take the pan off the heat and whisk vigorously. They'll come out. A sauce that has been rescued always tastes the same as one that behaved from the start.
4. 4

   Mash the potatoes

   Mash the drained potatoes with the 50g of butter and a splash of warm milk. You want them smooth and generous, soft enough to spread but firm enough to hold their shape on top of the pie. A grating of nutmeg. Season with salt and pepper. Taste it. The mash should be good enough to eat on its own. If it isn't, the pie won't save it.

5. 5

   Assemble the pie

   Set the oven to 200C/180C fan. Flake the haddock into large pieces, discarding the skin and checking for bones as you go. Lay the fish in the bottom of an ovenproof dish, about 1.5 litres in size. Nestle the halved eggs among the fish, cut side up, so they're visible when you eventually spoon through the top. Pour the parsley sauce over everything. It should cover the fish and eggs in a thick, generous blanket. Spoon the mash on top and spread it to the edges, sealing the filling in. Run a fork across the surface to rough it up. The ridges will catch and go golden.

6. 6

   Bake until golden

   Bake for twenty-five to thirty minutes, until the potato is properly golden on top and the sauce is bubbling up at the edges. You'll smell it before you see it: smoky, buttery, the particular warmth of something that has been quietly getting on with itself in the oven. Let it stand for five minutes before you serve it. A pie this hot needs a moment, and so do you.

Chef Tips

• •The poaching milk is the foundation of the whole pie. Don't pour it away. It carries the smoke and the salt from the haddock, and it turns a plain white sauce into something with real depth. A recipe is a conversation, not a contract, but this is the one instruction I'd insist on.
• •Nine minutes for the eggs gives you a yolk that is just set but still has a touch of softness at the very centre. When you cut into the pie, that egg should feel like a gift, not an afterthought. If you prefer them firmer, give them another minute, but no more.
• •Rough up the mash on top with a fork. The ridges and peaks catch the heat and go golden while the valleys stay pale and soft. It's the contrast that makes the topping worth having.
• •A few leaves of buttered spinach or some simply dressed watercress alongside is all this needs. The pie is rich enough. Let something green and sharp cut through it.

Advance Preparation

• •The pie can be assembled up to a day ahead, covered, and refrigerated. Bake from cold, adding an extra ten minutes to the oven time, until the sauce is bubbling and the top is golden.
• •The parsley sauce can be made several hours ahead and kept covered with a piece of cling film pressed directly onto the surface to stop a skin forming. Reheat gently before assembling.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 490g)