1-2 Tinned tuna (smoked hapuka, or salmon if affordable)
4-5 Large waxy potatoes
1 Cup of bread crumbs
3 Eggs
Flour
Water
Butter
Parsley
Method:
Heat oven to 180 degrees celsius
Choose a number of potatoes that will be sufficient to make enough mash to fill the pie dish you have selected to use.
Boil potatoes and while you are at it, throw a couple of eggs into the water with them and cook them for ten minutes until they are hard boiled.
Butter the pie dish, take your fish and use the whole lot to cover the bottom of the dish.
Fish out the eggs, and check your potatoes if they are ready to drain.
Run the eggs under cool water, peel and cut into halves and put them aside for later.
Drain the potatoes and mash them until they are smooth.
When preparing white sauce make sure that you focus entirely on one step after the other as it easily goes wrong if you are not used to making it
First prepare a roux. Take a generous nob of butter and gently melt it in a medium size sauce pan. Stir in enough flour into the liquid butter to make a greasy ball of goo and then add a cup of boiling water.
Whisk the sauce at all times. As the sauce begins to thicken, add another cup of water and another and so forth, until you have reached the desired thickness you would like your sauce to be.
Make sure to season with S&P to taste. Depending on what type of flavour you favour, some nutmeg, chilli, black pepper, fresh parsley or chives make a markable difference and go a long way to add that "je ne sais pas quoi" element to this dish. Why not give it a punt, arrr! Well shiver me timbers, after all this is a sea dogs pie, isn't it!
The secret of making white sauces is to make sure to whisk them at all times and make sure it does not get lumpy and dry, so keep adding water as required and whisk, whisk, whisk to stop it burning.
Note that you can use milk instead of boiling water!
But because the dish has already enough dairy and protein, in order to cut back on fat, water works just as well and allows for a healthier option.
Pour white sauce over the fish then heap the mash on top of it until a half an inch off the top of the dish. Bury the eggs in the mash and make sure they are cover.
Sprinkle with bread crumps and for the crowning glory pop a few nobs of butter on the top.
Make sure to cover the dish with aluminium foil to prevent it from burning and create a nice crusty finish.
Enjoy and let me know what you think!
