SERVES 6
900 g | 2 lb haddock, whiting or cod fillet or a
Mixture of any of them
425 ml | ¾ pint milk
½ onion, sliced
6 black peppercorns
1 bay leaf
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
5 hardboiled eggs, quartered
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
30 g | 1 oz butter
2 tablespoons double cream
675 g | 1 ½ lb mashed potatoes

1. Preheat the over to 180 °C | 350 ° | gas mark 4.
2. Lay the fish fillets in a roasting pan, skin side up.
3. Heat the milk with the onion, peppercorns, bay leaf and a pinch of salt.
4. Pour over the fish. Cover the fish with greaseproof paper and cook in the over for about 15 minutes, until the fish is firm and creamy-looking.
5. Strain off milk and deserve it for the sauce. Remove the skin and bones from the fish. Flake the into a pie dish and add the eggs. Sprinkle over the parsley.
6. Melt the butter in a saucepan, remove from the heat stir in the flour. Return to the heat and cook for 1 minute. Remove from the heat and gradually add the reserve milk.
7. Return to the heat and stir, bringing slowly to boil. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Stir in the cream and pour over the fish, mixing the sauce in carefully with a palette knife or spoon.
8. Spread a layer of mashed potatoes on the top and mark with a fork in a criss-cross patern. Or pipe the potatoes on top of the pie. Place on a baking sheet and brown in the oven for about 10 minutes or brown under a hot grill. If the pie has been made in advance reheat in the oven for 20-30 minutes.

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Excerpt from Leiths Cookery Bible

[Leith, P., and Waldegrave, C., (2003), Leiths Cookery Bible, 3rd edition, Bloomburys, UK]