Seafood Pasta Bake
For a colourful fish pie use a mix of salmon, smoked cod and white haddock with a few prawns thrown in for good measure. Of course it’s up to you - stick with just a white fish or use a mix of fish and seafood like squid, mussels, cockles, prawns and cockles.
Most fish pie recipes use cooked fish, using this recipe ensures the fish isn’t over cooked or cooked twice and when you serve up a portion the fish remains in visible cooked chunks.
Preparation time: 20 - 30 minutes Quantity: Serves 8 - 10 Cooking time: 45 minutes - 1 hour
Ingredients
2 lb / 1 kilo pasta of choice
White Sauce -
50g/ 2 oz butter
50g / 2 oz plain white flour
1 pint milk (any) - warm -hot
Flavours -
1 large or 2 small onions -small diced
2 sticks celery - small diced
2 cloves garlic - crushed
1 teaspoon English mustard
1 glass white wine
60 - 80 ml double cream
Optional extras -
1/2 tin sweetcorn or 6 - 8 oz cooked broccoli florets or 8 - 10 oz sliced cooked mushrooms or 1 leek, trimmed, washed, diced and cooked
Fish filler -
550g mixed large diced seafood
(an assortment (2 or 3) of large diced fish - salmon, haddock, cod, coley, tuna, swordfish, smoked cod, smoked haddock etc. and 1 or 2 seafoods like squid, prawns, cockles, mussels, welks etc)
Topping -
130g / 5 oz grated cheese or
100g / 4 oz grated cheese mixed with
75g / 3 oz breadcrumbs and
2 tablespoon fresh chopped parsley - optional
Method
- In a large pan bring salted water to a rapid boil with a dash of oil
- Add the pasta, stirring once or twice and boil till just cooked - al dente
- Drain and set aside - meanwhile
- In a large pan melt the butter
- Stir in the flour, cook on a low heat, stirring until the flour mix (roux) is smooth and comes away from the side of the pan
- Add a ladle full of milk in at a time, stirring on a higher heat until the milk is absorbed in the roux and the mix thickens
- Continue until all the milk has gone and the sauce is smooth and thickened
- Add the onion, celery, garlic and mustard
- Cook on a low heat for a few minutes to soften the vegetables
- Add the diced fish, wine and cream
- Stir all together, cooking until the fish has just cooked
- Add any optional extras - if the mix is too firm add a little more milk
- Mix in to the cooked pasta
- Pour in to an ovenproof dish
- Sprinkle with grated cheese or cheese and crumb mix
- Bake in a preheated oven gas 6-7 /210*c / 430*f on a middle shelf for 20 -30 minutes or until golden on top
Tip - If cooking from cold cook for 40 - 50 minutes or until hot in the centre