Ingredients
- Cornish Sardines (pilchards)
- Cod Tails
- Whiting Tail
- Rock Fish
- Wahoo
- 1 bulb of Fennel
- 1 large bulb of garlic
- 6 banana Shallots
- Parsley
- Butter
- flour
- ½ a pint of milk
- 3 eggs
- 10 Potatoes
- 1 thick slice of cured smoked bacon
- 1 litre of Fish Stock
- Glass of White wine (chardonnay)
- 10 Potatoes
- 3 eggs
- Frozen garden peas
- Mint
- Salt and Pepper
- 2 Lemons
Place 10 large potatoes in the oven to bake whilst you prepare the rest of the pie and hard boil 3 eggs for around nine minutes.
Finely dice 6 banana shallots and place in a pan with olive oil to slowly sweat over a low heat. Add a finely diced bulb of fennel (hard core removed), a bulb of garlic which has been finely sliced, together with a good double handful of bacon lardons. Remember to season the mixture.
In a separate pan reduce a large glass of chardonnay and when the liquid has halved add your fish stock and bring to a simmer before adding half a pint of milk.
Prepare your fish – fillet the Pilchards retaining the heads and tails and cut the remaining fish into decent sized chunks.
Returning to your vegetable and bacon base, add half a pack of butter and allow to melt before sprinkling over an equal amount of flour and stirring through creating a velouté. When the flour has dispersed into the mix start to ladle over your fish stock, add the stock gently until you have the required consistency. Season to taste – this dish traditionally is made with a lot of black pepper. Add the zest of one lemon and a handful of chopped parsley before removing the heat, adding your chopped fish and mixing through. Check again for seasoning. Decant the mix into your serving dish, you want to have a good depth of filling of at least one inch. Place the pilchard fillets on top of the filling and grate over the hard-boiled eggs, ensuring even coverage. Allow to cool completely.
Mashed potato topping – melt together a block of butter and milk. Halve your jacket potatoes whilst they are still hot and scoop out the insides into a sieve. Push the potatoes through the sieve into the milk and butter. Work the mix to remove any graininess and season – use white pepper so it does not show in the mash and a good double pinch of flaky sea salt. Add a handful of parsley and the zest of a lemon. You can also add Parmesan cheese if you wish! Spoon the mix into a piping bag and pipe in a wave formation over your pie base.
Decorate your pie with the Pilchard heads and tails, so they are looking up at the sky.
Add your pie to the Traeger for 25 – 30 minutes at 225°C.
For the minted peas – combine boiling water and butter in a pan before adding frozen garden peas to warm through. Season with salt, pepper and add the zest and juice of a lemon. Spoon into a blender and add a handful of freshly cut chopped mint and blitz.