Inspired by Jamie Oliver and adapted to accommodate food intolerances and inflammation! The prawns glamorise it for special occasions.
Ingredients
- 1 medium sweet potato
- 2 bundles of fresh spinach (approx 300g) OR 1 bag baby leaf spinach
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 2 medium carrots
- 1 medium shallot
- Olive oil
- 1 lemon
- 2 tspn dijon mustard
- 1 tsp mayonnaise (optional)
- 4-500g fresh fish (pie mix) cod, haddock, salmon, hake
- 4 large uncooked prawns (optional for special occasions)
- 1 large handful fresh parsley
- Sea salt and black pepper
Method
The oven – Preheat the oven to 175°C.
The cooking
- Put the spinach in a sink full of cold water, even if it’s a bag, and leave it to soak for now.
- Peel and chop the sweet potato into about 2 cm cubes, add it to cold water with a little salt and bring to the boil. Simmer until you can easily put a knife through it, but try not to let it go really soft. It takes 10-15 minutes.
- Finely chop the shallot and carrots, and add to a small frying pan with a little oil and a pinch of salt to stop it burning. Allow them to soften on a medium heat, then turn to a really low heat until you’re ready for their next stage.
- Take a large saucepan and put in a little oil. Crush or squash and chop the garlic and fry gently in the oil over a medium heat, don’t allow it to burn.
- If you have large leaf spinach, strip the leaves off the stalks and discard the stalks. Drain your spinach before adding it to the garlic and stir together until wilted. Add a couple of grinds of black pepper and stir again. Leave it uncovered on a very low heat while you prepare the rest.
- Once the sweet potato is ready, drain it and keep some of the water.
- Add one teaspoon of dijon mustard, one teaspoon of mayonnaise, and a couple of grinds of black pepper to the sweet potato and mash with a fork. I think it’s nicer with a bit of texture, so don’t mash it too smooth.
- Now add one teaspoon of dijon mustard, 4 tbsp of sweet potato water and the juice of half a lemon to the carrot and shallot mixture and stir. If the lemon is not strong enough, add a little more; it’s better if you can taste it at this stage. Mix thoroughly together.
Preparing the pie
- Take a dish approximately 9” across. I use a round one and start layering.
- The first layer is the spinach, evenly spread over the bottom of the dish.
- The second layer is the carrots and onion mix.
- Now add the raw fish, spread evenly over the vegetables.
- Then add the sweet potato mash. I find it easier to use a dessertspoon and add it spoon by spoon, then spread it over with a fork.
- Now place in the oven for 15 minutes.
- If you’re using prawns, place them in a decorative fashion on the top of the mash and put the pie back in the oven for 5 minutes until they are entirely pink.
- If not using the prawns, then leave the pie in the oven for 20 mins.
There is no need to serve anything with this; it’s a meal in itself.
I promise you it’s really worth the effort, it’s so tasty and special and very different from any other fish pie I’ve ever eaten. Thank you to Jamie Oliver for the inspiration here, as I made the full cream version of this pie over 15 years ago and only recently decided to make it work for me now.
I love to source my fish locally, and it was a treat to visit my fishmonger for this recipe! If you can shop locally and sustainably.
