⏱️ Enjoy with your favourite beverage | 5 min read

his fish pie came about from my commitment to using every part of the fish. I collect the offcuts – those trimmings and odd-shaped pieces that are perfectly good but don’t make it onto the plate as fillets. Combined with whatever sustainable whole fish looks best at the market, these offcuts create a pie that’s both economical and delicious.

Fish pie should be comfort food – warming, satisfying, and not fussy. I’ve given you options for both mash and pastry toppings. With the pastry version, you can have some fun using scissors to snip scales into the pastry before baking – it looks great and the kids love helping with that bit. The sauce is straightforward, relying on good fish stock (see my fish stock recipe) and fresh herbs rather than complicated techniques. If you’re making your own stock from frames and heads, that’s the full circle of using the whole fish. Use whatever white fish is sustainable and fresh in your area. I’ve had great results with barramundi, snapper, flathead, ling, even coral trout when it’s available. The key is freshness, not fancy varieties. The individual pies freeze brilliantly – I always make a double batch and freeze half for those nights when I need dinner on the table quickly

GEOFF’s Fish Pie…

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Prep Time 25

Total Time 1 20

Servings: 6 people

Course: lunch, Main Course

Cuisine: Australian

Calories: 852

Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients

Fish and Seafood

800 gm 800gm white fish – a mix of fillets and offcuts/trimmings (coral trout, snapper, barramundi, flathead), skinned and pin-boned, cut into 2-3cm chunks
200 gm smoked fish offcuts or flaked hot-smoked Ora king salmon
150 gm raw prawns, peeled and deveined, roughly chopped

The Sauce

80 gm unsalted butter
1 leek (white part only), finely sliced
100 gm carrot, diced (small)
2-3 garlic cloves, minced
60 gm plain flour
100 ml dry white wine
400 ml fish stock (see Geoff’s Fish Stock recipe, or quality shop-bought)
250 ml pouring cream
100 ml full cream milk
1 bunch fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped
10 gm fresh dill, chopped
2 bay leaves (fresh)
2-3 gm sea salt flakes and cracked black pepper to taste

Mash topping

1 kg waxy potatoes (Dutch Cream or Royal Blue), peeled and cut into roughly 3cm chunks
100 gm unsalted butter
80 ml full cream milk, warmed
2-3 gm sea salt flakes and cracked black pepper to taste

For Pastry Topping (family or Individual)

600 gm sheets frozen puff pastry, thawed (for individual pies or one family pie)
1 egg, beaten, for egg wash

Equipment

1 Induction or gas stovetop
1 Oven, Combi oven, Moisture Plus oven

Method

Method for Sauce

1.       Melt the butter in a large saucepan over on induction setting 7 or medium heat. Add the leek, carrot, and garlic. Sauté for 8 minutes until soft but not coloured.
2.       Add the flour and stir well to coat everything. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly – this cooks out the raw flour taste.
3.       Pour in the wine and stir, scraping the bottom of the pan. Let it bubble for 2 minutes until reduced by half.
4.       Gradually add the fish stock, stirring constantly. Add the cream and milk. Bring to a gentle simmer, add the bay leaves, and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until thickened.
5.       Remove bay leaves. Stir through the parsley, dill, and lemon juice. Season well with salt and white pepper. The sauce should be well-flavoured and thick enough to coat a spoon.

Method Mash Fish Pie

1.       Preheat the oven to 180°C (Fan Plus) and butter a 2.5ltrovenproof dish.
2.       Arrange the white fish, smoked fishand prawns in the dish. Pour over the sauce, shaking the dish gently todistribute evenly.
3.       Cut the potatoes into roughly 3cm cubes. If using a steam oven use a perforated steam container and steam at 100°C for 20 minutes. The potatoes should be tender when pierced by a knife.
4.       If using the boiling method put the potatoes in salted water for 15-20 minutes until tender. Drain and let steam for 1 minute.
5.       Mash the potatoes (use a ricer if available) into a pot on your stove top on low heat (to remove extra moisture) beating until smooth. Then whisk/fold in the butter and warm milk.
6.       Spoon or pipe the mash over thefilling, spreading from the edges inward. Use a fork to create ridges on thesurface.
7.       Bake on shelf position 2 for 35-40 minutes until bubbling and golden. If needed, finish under the grill for 2-3minutes.

Method for Pastry Fish Pie – Family size

1.       Preheat the oven to 180°C (Fan Plus) and butter a 2.5ltrovenproof dish.
2.       Arrange the white fish, smoked fish and prawns in the dish. Pour over the sauce, shaking the dish gently to distribute evenly.
3.       Roll or trim the puff pastry to cover the dish with about 2cm overhang. You may need to join sheets – brush edges with water and press firmly.
4.       Brush the rim of the dish with egg wash. Drape the pastry over the filling, pressing edges to seal. Trim excess and crimp with a fork.
5.       Using scissors, snip small diagonal cuts into the pastry to create a scale pattern – this looks great and helps the pastry crisp up. Cut a small cross in the centre for steam to escape.
6.    Brush the entire surface with egg wash. Bake for 30-35 minutes until the pastry is puffed and deeply golden, and filling is bubbling.

Notes

Serving Suggestions

I typically serve this as a stunning centrepiece on a large platter, allowing guests to help themselves. Here are my go-to accompaniments:
Vegetables: Roasted root vegetables, steamed broccolini, or charred asparagus
Salads: A beetroot and orange salad works beautifully, or try a fresh herb salad with dill, parsley, and mint.
Bread: Warm flatbreads or sourdough for scooping

Notes and Observations:

Using Fish Offcuts: Ask your fishmonger for trimmings when they’re filleting fish – these are often much cheaper and work perfectly in pies. Remove any bones and skin before using. You can also save offcuts when you fillet fish at home.
Fish Stock: Use Geoff’s Fish Stock recipe for the best results, made from fish frames and heads. If buying stock, it shouldn’t smell overly fishy.
Potato Choice: Waxy potatoes like Dutch Cream or Royal Blue hold their shape better and create a creamier mash that sits well on the pie. They won’t absorb as much liquid as floury potatoes. Steaming rather than boiling keeps them drier and produces a better texture.
Pastry Scales: The scissor-cut scale pattern is purely decorative but adds a nice touch. Snip at a 45-degree angle in overlapping rows. Kids love helping with this part.
Moisture Plus or Combi Oven: If you have a moisture plus oven or combi oven, these are excellent for cooking fish pie. For mash topping, bake at 180°C (Fan Plus) with 20% humidity for 35-40 minutes. For pastry topping, use 180°C with 30% humidity for 25-35 minutes. A burst of steam at the start is particularly good when cooking from frozen – it helps the filling heat evenly while keeping the pastry crisp.
Sauce Thickness: The sauce won’t reduce once topped, so get it to the right consistency before assembling. It should coat the back of a spoon.
Make-Ahead: Assemble pies up to 24 hours ahead. Keep refrigerated, add pastry or mash topping just before baking.

Fridge Friendly Instructions:

Refrigerate for up to 2 days.
Reheating – Heat gently at 160° for approximately 20 minutes. Alternatively, if you have a steam or combi use one burst of steam at the beginning.

Freezer Friendly Instructions (Individual Pies):

Cool completely after baking (or freeze unbaked).
Wrap each pie tightly in cling film, then foil.
Freeze for up to 3 months.
Bake from frozen at 180°C for 40-45 minutes (cover with foil if browning too quickly). If using a combi or moisture plus oven, add a burst of steam at the start for even heating.

Nutrition Facts – 6 servings (Mash)

*The Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie / 8370 Kilojoule diet, so your values may change depending on your calorie/kilojoule needs. The values here may not be 100% accurate because the recipes have not been professionally evaluated.

GEOFF’s Fish Pie…