fish pie and guest host

My baby brother (who's not much of a baby anymore) asked if he could get in on the eating preparation. So, please enjoy this recipe from him. We talked a little about it last night, and I asked him if the fish got mushy at all (my only worry when making a fish pie) - he assures me the fish was wonderfully flaky. I haven't tried it, but I trust him when he says it was tasty!

As an avid reader of Prepare for Eating I thought it would be nice to give Catherine Anne a day off and tell you about something I’ve cooked.

Today’s recipe was influenced by Catherine Anne’s almost quiche, the Onion Pie. I took that idea and created a layered fish pie.

Fish pie is a tradition of the British Isles. With that said:

Ingredients:

300-500g {Catherine Anne's note: about 14 oz} of white fish (Cod, Haddock, I used Cod)
Six medium small potatoes (idaho or yukon gold are best)
Two yellow onions
Five cloves of garlic
One shallot (optional)
One stick of butter (I know)
One tablespoon of olive oil (yeah, I know)
Two cups of grated cheese (I used Kerrygold Dubliner but any kind of cheddar will do, white particularly)
One half cup of cream or milk
One nine-inch pie loose pie crust, not the one in the tin)
One tsp. rosemary
Salt and pepper to taste(I didn’t put a whole lot of seasoning in this because I wanted the natural flavor of the Cod and onions to really take over.)

Let me first say that this is not a healthy dish, this is a hearty fill you up kind of dish best served with a cold pint of stout.

{CAnne's note: preheat the oven to 400* F}

Put a large pot of water (6 quart) on the stove to boil.

Start with the vegetation, peel the shallot, garlic and onion. Chop them into semi-slim slices (no more than 1/4 in). Melt two tablespoons of butter with the olive oil in a pan over medium low heat. Throw the chopped alliaceae into the pan and toss together with salt, pepper and rosemary. Sweat them until they are opaque and sweet. Set aside when done.

Now that the water is (probably) boiling throw the eggs in there for ten minutes while you prepare the next step.

Peel the potatoes and slice in 1/4 in. portions. After the eggs have timed out go ahead and throw the potatoes in. You’re looking for just cooked on these, you’re not mashing them. Another 12 min or so and strain them and set aside. Peel the eggs and slice them as well.

In the pan you cooked the onions in, melt the rest of the butter (seriously, I know) over medium heat and add the cod. While cooking for 7 minutes per side (my cod had three sides), spoon butter from the pan onto the fish. Take the fish out of the pan and set aside.

Using the same pan, lower the heat and pour in the cream or milk. Scrape the bits of deliciousness left over from the onions and fish off the bottom of the pan, then let sit.

Now comes the building- I used a deep, round nine-inch glass dish. This is the order I used:
(the bottom of the pan is the top of the list)

Potato
Egg
Onion mixture
Cheese
Sauce
Cod

Repeat until the top is reached.

Unroll the pie crust and lay it on top of the dish, press to the sides until you have a seal. Poke some holes in the top (I used a knife to cut an X in the middle so I could find the spot later){CAnne's note: Can you tell my brother is a joker?}. Bake in the oven for 25 minutes at 400 degrees. Let it sit for ten minutes, serve and devour (don’t forget the beer, Murphy’s stout, although Guinness is also good and good for you!)

This website is getting a little pie-heavy, huh? Perhaps something lighter over the weekend!