07/06/2026
Adversity makes strange bedfellows! I’m making Fish Pie but on closer inspection of the fridge, freezer and pantry I don’t have all the ingredients and no one fancies a trip out to the Super to garner ingredients.
OK, so let’s see what we have:
Celery
Leek
Carrot
Fish sauce
Garlic paste
Large tin of Tuna in spring water
1 med Potato
1 med kumara
1/4 pumpkin
Seasoning
Wasabi
Cheese tasty
Butter
Milk
Plain flower
Mustard powder
Breadcrumbs
Ground black pepper
Ground rock salt
Method:
Chop 2 sticks of celery fine and add to pan with olive oil.
Finely cut 1/2 a Leek add to pan
Once celery and leek are well reduced add cup of grated carrot
Once carrot has combined and cooked down add 3 tsp of garlic paste (jar) and 1 Tablespoon of Fish Sauce, stir and reduce on a low heat….add the contents of the tinned fish including the spring water and cook on a med heat until you achieve a dry consistency.
Meanwhile cut the pumpkin, potato and kumara into chunks and steam them until soft, discard the water and use the pan to mash the the steamed veges then season and add a teaspoon of wasabi and stir well in.
Empty the fish mixture into a casserole.
Make the sauce with 100g of butter, 2 dessert spoons (heaped) of plain flour, a tablespoon of mustard powder and about 2 cups of milk. Melt the butter over a medium heat and stir in the flower and mustard powder to make a rue, let it cook for a while as you stir then gradually add the milk, stirring to prevent lumps forming. Add 2 cups of grated tasty cheese and combine to make a thick sauce.
Pour the sauce over the fish base then add the mash layer in clumps around the edges of the casserole and use a fork to distribute it across the surface. Add breadcrumbs and some freshly ground pepper.
Bake for an hour at 180 uncovered.
I was very pleasantly surprised with how this turned out - absolutely delicious
