Easy Spring Fish Pie Recipe

bursting with plenty of green veggies and loads of fish!

I was telling a friend I was making fish pie and they were like, wtf?

I sometimes forget that fish pie isn’t really something Americans eat. Having lived in New Zealand for over 7 years, I often forget what is American and what is more kiwi. Fish pie is definitely something I ate in NZ.

You’ll often see it topped with pastry of some kind instead of mashed potatoes, which I’m not mad about and have often done as well. Sometimes it’s called “fisherman’s pie” when topped with mashed potatoes because it’s similar to shepherd’s pie, which is also topped with mash. Sometimes people use smoked fish, or a combination of smoked fish and fresh fish, and sometimes people throw in all sorts of seafood, like they would a chowder, because why not?

Here we’re using COD! from Alaska!!! My friend, Kyle Lee, owner of Alaskan Salmon Company, came around with some fish for us to cook and I truly couldn’t believe he’d never had this before either, especially since he’s a fisherman himself.

We loaded this bad boy with plenty of spring // green veggies because it’s what was in season, but you could swap out any of these for more carrots, some turnips, leeks, or other hearty vegetables you might find when you’re out shopping for this. I don’t cook the vegetables before adding them to the pot because I don’t want them to be overcooked and super brown and nasty. Here, they still have a bit of bite, plus the brightness of lemon and freshness of dill really make this thing POP.

I have a feeling y’all are gonna love this. I hope you do! Recipe below.

Serves 4
Prep time: 25 minutes
Total time: 2 hours

INGREDIENTS

for the mashed potatoes:
2 pounds|1 kg russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
kosher salt, to taste
½ cup|125 ml whole milk
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus 2 tablespoons melted unsalted butter

for the filling:
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 carrots, peeled and diced
1 large yellow onion, diced
¼ cup|45 grams all-purpose flour
1 ½ tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 cup|250 ml seafood or vegetable stock
1 cup|250 ml whole milk
4 ounces|113 grams asparagus, trimmed and diced
4 ounces|113 grams green beans, diced
12 ounces|340 grams skinned and deboned cod, cut into 1 ½-inch pieces (or other fish of your choice!)
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
4 ounces|113 grams frozen peas, defrosted
3 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
1 lemon, zested and juiced

DIRECTIONS

1. Make the mashed potatoes: Cover the potatoes with water in a medium saucepan and season with salt. Bring to a boil and cook until soft, about 12 minutes, then drain. Using a potato ricer and working in batches, rice the potatoes (rice ‘em right back into the pot you boiled them in!). Alternatively, mash the heck out of them with your preferred mashing instrument. Add the milk and butter and incorporate, then season with salt. Transfer to a piping bag and keep warm. (NOTE: you don’t HAVE to put them in a piping bag…it just makes it easier to spread over the top of the pie later!)

2. Make the filling: Heat the oven to 425°F. Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium-high. Add the carrots and onion and cook until soft, about 3 minutes. Stir in the flour and cook 2 minutes, then stir in the mustard and cook 1 minute more. Add the stock and milk and cook until thick, then stir in the asparagus and green beans and cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Season the fish all over with salt and pepper, then add it to the pot along with the peas and dill. Zest in the lemon and squeeze in all of its juice, then season the mixture with salt and pepper.

3. Transfer the mixture to a pie dish (or a different container you prefer! Could be small little ramekins, whatever!) and pipe the mashed potatoes over the top (you may not need to use all of the mashed potatoes, depending on the size of the dish you end up using, FWIW). Spread into an even layer and, using the tines of a fork, rake some lines into those potatoes. Drizzle the melted butter over the top and bake until bubbling and golden, about 30 minutes. Let cool for about 5 minutes before dishing up. I recommend serving with a bright and light green salad to help offset some of the richness of the pie.