Giffords fish pie

Serves 6 Starters and mains

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Method

Put a pan over high heat and, once extremely hot, throw in all the seafood, pour in the wine and bring to a frantic boil. Lower the heat slightly, cover with a lid and simmer for 3–4 minutes. Remove the lid, take the seafood out with a slotted spoon and transfer to a bowl.

Keep the cooking liquor over a low heat and add the cream, mustard and bay leaves and simmer for a few minutes, then set aside.

Pick the meat from the shellfish and put all the prepared seafood in the fridge.

Melt the butter in a deep pan over a medium heat, then add the shallots and fennel with
a pinch of salt and cook for around 5 minutes, stirring often, until softened. Add the flour while still stirring and cook for a further 5 minutes.

Gradually ladle in the reserved cream mixture and stir until thick. Season well with salt and pepper and pick out the bay leaves and discard. Transfer to a bowl, allow to cool and put in the fridge with cling film pressed on to the surface of the sauce for 2 hours until cold.

For the mash topping, boil the potatoes until you can easily stick a knife through them, then drain in a colander and give them a few minutes back in the pan set over a low heat to steam dry. Pass them through a ricer or bash with a masher until smooth. Heat the butter and cream in a small
pan over a low heat until piping hot, then stir into the mash with the egg yolks and season well with salt and pepper.

Preheat the oven to 170C/ 150C F/Gas 3. For the breadcrumb topping, blend the ingredients together with a good pinch of salt and white pepper until the colour of the herbs comes through.

Add all the seafood to the cooled sauce with the chopped eggs and lemon juice and zest, and mix well. Spoon into a large pie dish. Spoon the mash, or use a piping bag fitted with a plain nozzle, over the seafood and scatter the green breadcrumbs on top. Bake for 30 minutes in the preheated oven until the crumbs start to get crispy, then serve with the buttered samphire.