Mary Berry Absolute Favourites: Fish pie with soufflé crouton topping (2024)

The classic fish pie has been given a delicious twist with a crunchy cheesy topping that perfectly offsets the smooth and creamy filling. It needs to be made slightly ahead as the filling is chilled in the fridge for an hour. Ask your fishmonger to skin the fish, or follow the tip below for doing it yourself.

Serves 6

FOR THE FILLING

• 50g (2oz) butter, plus extra for greasing
• 1 leek, diced
• 50g (2oz) plain flour
• 600ml (1 pint) hot milk
• 2 tbsp chopped dill
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 350g (12oz) fresh haddock fillet, skinned and cut into even-sized cubes
• 350g (12oz) undyed smoked haddock fillet, skinned and cut into even-sized cubes
• 3 hard-boiled eggs, each cut into either
• 4 or 8 wedges
• salt and freshly ground black pepper

FOR THE TOPPING

• 1 small (400g/14oz) loaf of white bread
• (2-3 days old)
• 50g (2oz) full-fat cream cheese
• 75g (3oz) butter
• 75g (3oz) mature Cheddar cheese, grated
• 1 large egg white

1 You will need a shallow 1.5-litre (2½-pint) ovenproof dish, approximately 30cm x 20cm x 6cm (12in x 8in x 2½ in).

2 To make the filling for the pie, melt the butter in a saucepan, add the leek and gently soften over a low heat for 3-4 minutes until completely tender but not browned. Sprinkle in the flour and stir over a highheat for a minute. Gradually pour in the hot milk, whisking over a high heat until the sauce is smooth and thickened and has come to the boil.

3 Remove from the heat and add the chopped dill, lemon juice and cubes of fish and season with salt and pepper. Return to the heat and cook for 2 minutes, stirring, then remove from the hob and spoon into the ovenproof dish. Arrange the eggs on top of the sauce and press in gently. Level the top with the back of your spoon and set aside to cool. When cold, cover with clingfilm and chill in the fridge for about an hour or until firm.

4 Preheat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6 and grease the dish with a little melted butter.

5 To make the soufflé topping, remove the crusts from the loaf and cut into five slices, each about 1.5cm (⅝ in) thick, and then into cubes; you will need to weigh out about 150g (5oz) of these croutons. Measure the cream cheese, butter and Cheddar into a saucepan and melt together over a low heat until runny. (The mixture may look curdled, but don’t worry.) Remove from the heat and set the pan aside for a moment.

6 In a spotlessly clean bowl, whisk the egg white until stiff, then fold into the cheese mixture in the saucepan. Season with salt and pepper and carefully stir together, then stir in the croutons so they are fully coated in the mixture. Spoon on top of the fish filling so that the croutons form a single layer.

7 Bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes until golden and bubbling. If the dish starts getting too brown during cooking, simply cover with foil. Leave to stand for5 minutes before serving with a salad or green vegetable.

Mary Berry

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