Fish pie

Ingredients

2kg/4lb 6½oz mussels, rinsed, cleaned, beards removed
175ml/6fl oz white wine
2 bay leaves
1kg/2lb 3½oz undyed smoked haddock
500ml/17½fl oz milk
50g/2oz butter
4 tbsp plain flour
small bunch parsley, leaves only
salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the mashed potato
1.5kg/3lb 5oz floury potatoes, such as King Edward or Maris Piper, washed, peeled
pinch salt
50g/2oz butter

Method

Discard any dodgy looking mussels, such as those with broken shells, then tip them into a large pan with a lid, pour over the wine and bring to the boil. Let them cook in their own steam until they have opened - a minute or two, then tip them into a sieve with a bowl underneath to collect the juices. Discard any mussels that have remained closed. Remove each little mussel from its shell, then sieve the juices thoroughly to get rid of any grit.

Place the smoked haddock into a saucepan with the bay leaves and add the milk and as much water as you need to just cover the fish. Heat to a low simmer, then cook gently for 3-4 minutes, or until you can pull the fish from its skin with ease. Then turn off the heat. Once cool, remove the haddock and set aside. Reserve the cooking liquor.

For the potatoes, place the potatoes into a pan of cold water and bring to the boil. Add a good pinch of salt, then reduce the heat and simmer until tender enough to mash. Drain the potatoes, and add one or two thick slices of butter and two or three spoonfuls of the haddock cooking liquor and mash to a fluff.

For the pie, rinse the mussel pan clean, then place over a medium heat and melt the butter in it. Stir in the flour and let it cook over a slow to moderate heat until it is biscuit-brown and nutty. Pour in the reserved mussel cooking liquor and 500ml/18fl oz of the haddock cooking liquor. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for ten minutes, with a regular stir to stop it catching on the base of the pan.

Remove the skin of the haddock and check for bones, keeping it in large juicy flakes- nothing is worse than a fish pie with its heart and soul mashed to a pulp. Stir the haddock flakes into the milk and mussel liquor sauce and add the mussels and parsley. Grind in some black pepper, but go easy with the salt - you may not need any at all. Scoop the lot into a large ovenproof pie dish (I often use a roasting tin) and leave to cool.

Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6.

Pile the mashed potato on top of the fish mixture in the pie dish. It may sink a little into the creamy filling. Place into the oven and bake until the top is crusty and the filling is bubbling up (about 50-60 minutes). This is not a pie you can slice (there is little less appetizing than a dry pie), but one with an unctuous, oozing filling.