Fish pie - the ultimate comfort food, but only if it's sustainable

Pretty much every British TV chef from the past five decades worth the name has shared their version of fish pie. Delia, Nigella, Jamie, Gordon, Si and Dave (AKA the Hairy Bikers) and Raymond (yes, he was born in France, but he’s been cooking here since the 70s) - they’ve all put their own mark on this, the princess of pies and the queen of comfort food.

More soothing than a hot bath, more comforting than a hug from your mother after a playground tumble and yet so open to individual tweaks and variations, fish pie is a dish perhaps unique in its ability both to unite and divide. Traditionalists see it as a dish of five stages: poach, mash, sauce, assemble and bake. Its versatility though means you can pimp your pie to suit your pocket and palate – not to mention the planet. And we haven’t even mentioned eggs yet.

But, as a chef and busy family man, James has introduced some subtle riffs he believes suit his 2020s lifestyle – although there are two non-negotiable ingredients.

“For this busy world we live in I’ve bypassed that poaching part of the process and sped up the recipe a bit. I do still love the family element of it and if the mashed potato has a few lumps courtesy of my 10-year-old that’s fine too.

“The fish, be it, cod, haddock, salmon or prawns must be MSC certified, and I always include white pepper. There’s nothing like it for creating that warmth in the white sauce. It’s something that’s been passed down through the family for generations.”

For his own version, James loves adding celeriac to the mash, to give an extra flavour profile and also likes to use a good west country Cheddar cheese for extra richness.

Hold on a minute though, I hear readers say, since when did a dish topped with mashed potato and not pastry qualify as a pie? Great question and one this writer wrestled with – briefly. I mean who’s ever questioned the credentials of cottage or shepherd’s pie?

But sure, there are recipes out there that include a pastry top and if pastry’s your thing, there’s potential for a pillowy pile of mash on the side too. In fact, time was, before we’d brought potatoes back from the New World, when fish pie would consist simply of a fish encased in pastry. Salmon en croute may be delicious, but it sounds suspiciously un-British and doesn’t fit our image of a fish pie.

Once you’ve selected your topping, it’s time to zero in on the all-important flavoursome filling. Whether it’s a midweek family supper or weekend dinner party dish you’re preparing, there are tweaks you can make to suit every occasion.

As James alludes to, most recipes include a white fish – MSC certified options include cod, haddock, pollock, saithe and hake, many of which are available, frozen too. Smoked fish – haddock generally being the most popular – adds an extra flavour profile, while prawns deliver not only a touch of luxury but also a different texture and a certain sweetness. Sales of MSC labelled coldwater prawns in the UK, most of which come from the North West and North East Atlantic, have soared in recent years – increasing 50% between 2018 and 2023.

Turn the clock back almost a thousand years and the fish of choice for a pie in the royal household was a lamprey (an eel-like creature). For a long time, the good people of Gloucester used to provide the monarch with lamprey pie at Christmas. When they failed to do so in the early 13th century, King John fined the West Country city. The custom continued right up until 1836 when lamprey numbers dwindled. History doesn’t relate if this was an early example of sustainable seafood choices or whether there just simply weren’t any lampreys left.

Talking of less common and indeed historic fish fillings, James Strawbridge, a proud Cornishman, has embraced the county’s stand-out variation on the theme. In fact, with fish heads literally standing out of it, Stargazy pie is quite the eye-catching dish. Featuring locally caught, super-tasty and sustainable MSC certified Cornish sardines, it’s proved a big winner with his family and James has no truck with those who dispute its claims to be a bona fide fish pie.

“I have three children all born in Cornwall and they are as proud of Cornish fish as I am. We have Stargazy pie at least three times a year and we’ve been to Mousehole to learn about the traditions and story behind it. There’s a deep link for them with the Cornish hake and sardines and I feel like a guardian keeping it going for them. It makes sense as a chef too as I love great quality produce.

“It’s definitely a fish pie and not only do we use lovely Cornish sardines but also some other good quality Cornish seafood. It’s a magical recipe, it encapsulates nose to tail eating and is about community, sharing and generosity – as well as being a spectacle. One of my kids even crunches her way through the fish heads!” 

If sardine heads peeking out of pastry is a step too far, there’s still a plethora of good future-proof fish options to pick from. By choosing haddock, cod, pollock etc with the blue ecolabel, generations to come will be able to enjoy fish pie – their way – for many years. Who knows whether our grandchildren will include eggs or indeed cheese. A handful of Cantabrian MSC certified anchovies are some chefs’ Cheddar substitute.

With three vegetables (fennel, peas and sweetcorn) in the filling, as well as the celeriac James adds to the mash, fish and eggs, this a dish that’s packed full of goodness too. There’s a splash of West Country cider in there too for good measure.

While the old adage that a little bit of what you fancy does you good may have fallen out of fashion, nutritionist and author of How not to Eat Ultra-Processed, Nichola Ludlam-Raine, is a serious advocate of the mental health benefits of comfort food as well as the physical benefits they can have, and offers some of her favoured tweaks to make the dish that little bit less rich and calorific.

“You can make it your own, whether cooking for friends or family. That could include adding a sweet potato topping for Vitamin A and anti-oxidants, including cauliflower and spinach in the filling and using a selection of white and oily fish to boost your omega 3 levels. For the sauce, I would tend to use semi-skimmed milk as well as cream cheese.

“I so well remember going to my auntie’s house and having fish pie there. It’s that sort of positive association with food that’s helped me see the connection between healthy food and food with a feelgood factor.”

When it comes a feelgood factor, your author first cooked Jamie Oliver’s Fantastic Fish Pie 25 years ago and has gone back to it probably four times a year ever since, for the perfect balance of the creamy comforting fish filling with a lemon and mustard sharpness coating carrots and spinach and topped with a smooth olive-oil mashed potato. Made with MSC certified smoked haddock, here’s hoping, if the pages of the book are still legible, future generations will continue to take comfort, pleasure and some healthy all-round goodness from this pie.