Manx Fisherman's Pie

Serves: to serve 6

Prep Time: 30 Minutes

Cook Time: 25 Minutes

Ready In: 55 mins

FOR THE POTATO TOPPING

1½ lb - floury potatoes

1 oz - butter

¼ pint - milk

3 - eggs

FOR THE PIE

2 - eggs

7 oz - white fish (cod, haddock or pollock)

7 oz - salmon fillet

7 oz - undyed smoked haddock

4 oz - uncooked Jumbo King Prawns

7½ fl oz - double cream (heavy cream)

1 - fish stock cube

1 medium - leek

2 oz - Cheddar cheese

- fresh herbs (tarragon, chives, mint)

First, make the creamed potatoes... Peel the potatoes and cut into pieces of roughly equal size (A medium-sized potato is usually cut into about 6 pieces). Rinse the potatoes to remove any surface starch. Now place them in a large pan with sufficient salted water to cover the potatoes. Bring the water to the boil then turn down the heat and cover the pan so that it continues to boil gently.
While the potatoes are cooking, let's move on to the pie... Hard boil the two eggs... Place about 2" - 3" (5cm - 7½cm) of water in a pan. Bring the water towards the boil. Once the water just begins to bubble, gently lower your egg(s) into the water on a spoon. Bring the water up to boiling point and continue to boil, cooking for eight minutes from the moment you placed your eggs in the water. Remove the eggs from the pan and cool under cold water. Remove the shells.
Make sure the fish have no skin or bones then cut them into chunks and place in the bottom of a large ovenproof dish. Add the prawns on top. Pour the cream into a small saucepan, crumble in the fish stock cube and bring to a gentle boil, whisking to dissolve the stock cube. Pour over the fish. Roughly chop the hard-boiled eggs and arrange in the dish. Grate the cheese and sprinkle over the top.
Trim the root and the green leaves off the leek and slice the white leaves. Place them in a pan of boiling water and blanch them for 1 minute. Drain and add to the fish.
Cooking time for the potatoes can vary depending upon the type of potato and the texture. Generally, however, somewhere between 15 - 20 minutes is sufficient. When you think that the potatoes are close to being cooked, pierce one or two of them with a fork. If the fork penetrates easily with little resistance, the potatoes are cooked. Remove the pan from the heat and drain off the water.
Add the butter and, using a potato masher, begin to break up and mash the potatoes. Bring the milk to the boil in a small sauce pan and add to the potatoes along with the yolks of the 3 eggs and beat until the texture is soft and light (and spreadable) - add a little more milk if needed.
Spread the creamy potato over the fish, then use the back of a fork to make a nice pattern. Chop a few herbs (whatever's at hand) and sprinkle over the top. Drizzle a splash of olive oil over the potato and place the dish in a preheated moderate oven (Mk 6 - 400ºF - 200ºC) for 20-25 minutes until golden brown. Serve hot with peas and carrots.