I’ve tried this twice now, in fact. In quick succession thanks to the vagaries of ordering in a time of lockdown where orders are uncertain and food schedules are written long in advance of the meal being eaten. First time with the boiled egg, second time without the boiled egg but with grated cheddar on top. Both times it was delicious (egg nice, feels rich and indulgent, but not essential; cheese a welcome tang, but again perhaps not essential). However I’m not sure I would do it again for one important reason. Having mentioned a couple of non-essential features of a great fish pie, I must now come to one of the essential features, the creamy sauce spilling out from beneath the soft and crisped strata of potato. And it is absent from this recipe, coming out instead as a dense, rich solid.
There are a few possible reasons for this:
- The potato was the wrong kind, being too absorbent and melding with the sauce to create a sublayer that is simply incorrect, albeit tasty. Problem: I’m not sure what potato was used.
- The sauce was not the correct consistency going into the oven, and thickened in the process. Except I tested this on the second attempt by creating a more liquid sauce, sadly with the same outcome.
- The make up of the sauce could still be to blame, or some aspect of how the pie is put together.
Further investigation is required.