Fish Pie Gordon Ramsay Recipe
Few dinners feel as comforting as a proper fish pie. This fish pie Gordon Ramsay recipe fills a dish with salmon, white fish, scallops and prawns, all in a silky sauce under a golden, cheesy mash. It looks impressive, but it is really just three simple jobs: mash, sauce and assembly. Follow the steps in order and you will have a pie that feeds four to six people with very little fuss.
Fish Pie Gordon Ramsay Recipe
Few dinners feel as comforting as a proper fish pie. This fish pie Gordon Ramsay recipe fills a dish with salmon, white fish, scallops and prawns, all in a silky sauce under a golden, cheesy mash.
🛒 Ingredients
Click to check off- For the Filling and Sauce
- For the Mashed Potato Topping
👨🍳 Step-by-Step Method
-
Heat the oven to 200°C/Gas 6. Grease a shallow pie dish that holds about 2 litres.
-
Make the topping first. Cut the potatoes into chunks and boil them in salted water until tender. Drain well, then press through a ricer or mash until completely smooth.
-
Beat in the butter and hot milk. Leave the mash to cool a little, then stir in the egg yolks. Season well and set aside.
-
Cook the shallots or onion in the olive oil and butter with the thyme leaves for about 5 minutes, until soft.
-
Pour in the Noilly Prat and the Pernod, if using. Cook for 4-5 minutes, until the liquid has reduced right down.
-
Stir in the flour and cook for about a minute. Warm the stock in a small pan or in a jug in the microwave.
-
Add the stock a little at a time, stirring with a wooden spoon until smooth. Boil for about 5 minutes, until reduced by a third.
-
Stir in the milk, turn the heat down and simmer for a few minutes. Season well, then add the cream and parsley.
-
While the sauce simmers, cut the salmon and cod or haddock into bite-sized chunks. Scatter them in the pie dish with the scallops and prawns. Sprinkle over the lemon juice and some seasoning, then stand the dish on a baking sheet.
-
Pour the sauce over the seafood and mix gently with a fork.
-
Spoon the mash over the top and fluff it up with a fork. Scatter over the grated Cheddar and put the pie straight into the oven.
-
Bake for 10 minutes. Turn the oven down to 180°C/Gas 4 and bake for another 20 minutes, turning the dish if the top browns unevenly.
-
Leave the pie to stand for 10 minutes before serving.
📝 Recipe Notes
• Make the mash before the sauce. It needs to cool slightly before the egg yolks go in, and it will not mind waiting while you cook the sauce.
• A ricer gives the smoothest topping, but a good old-fashioned masher works fine. Just make sure there are no lumps.
• Cut the fish into pieces of a similar size so everything cooks at the same rate. Mix the sauce through gently with a fork so the fish does not break up.
• The Pernod is optional. If you leave it out, the pie will still taste lovely, just a little less aniseedy.
• A stock cube is perfectly fine here. Use fish, chicken or vegetable, whichever you have in the cupboard.
Why This Fish Pie Gordon Ramsay Recipe Works
The sauce is where the flavour comes from. Cooking the shallots slowly with thyme builds a gentle sweetness, and boiling off the vermouth removes any harsh edge. Once the flour and stock go in, reducing the sauce by a third makes it thick enough to cling to the fish instead of turning watery in the oven.
The mix of seafood also helps. Salmon brings richness, cod or haddock gives soft flakes, scallops add sweetness and prawns give a bit of bite. Every forkful is slightly different.
Then there is the topping. Egg yolks make the mash richer and help it turn golden. The Cheddar adds a savoury crust. Starting the bake hot and then lowering the oven browns the top first and lets the fish cook gently underneath.
What to Serve with Fish Pie
Fish pie is rich and creamy, so it is best with something fresh and simple on the side. These are suggestions, so they are not part of the recipe above.
Steamed green beans or tenderstem broccoli add colour and a little crunch.
Buttered peas are a classic pairing and take minutes to cook.
A crisp green salad with a sharp lemon dressing cuts through the cream nicely.
Wilted spinach or buttered cabbage also works well if you want something warm.
For more inspiration, BBC Good Food’s classic fish pie recipe is a good place to look.
How to Tell When Your Fish Pie Is Cooked
The pie is ready when the mash is golden brown and the sauce is bubbling gently around the edges of the dish. Push a fork into the middle and look at the fish. It should look opaque and flake easily, and the prawns should be pink.
If the top is browning faster on one side, turn the dish around, as the method says. If the potato is already deep golden but you are unsure about the fish, cover the dish loosely with foil and give it a few more minutes.
Do not skip the 10-minute rest. It lets the sauce settle, so the pie holds its shape when you serve it, and it stops you burning your mouth on the filling.
Storage
Let leftovers cool, then cover the dish or move portions into airtight containers. Keep them in the fridge and eat them within two days. Seafood does not keep as long as other leftovers, so it is best not to push it.
Reheating
Reheat in the oven at 180°C/Gas 4, covered loosely with foil, until piping hot all the way through. This keeps the sauce creamy and stops the fish turning rubbery. Take the foil off for the last few minutes if you want the top to crisp up again. Microwaving works for a single portion, but the topping will be softer.
Make Ahead
You can make the mash and the sauce earlier in the day and keep them covered in the fridge. Chill the sauce before you build the pie, and assemble it just before baking. If the pie goes in cold from the fridge, give it a few extra minutes in the oven and check that the middle is hot.
Variations
All of these are suggestions that go beyond the main recipe.
Smoked haddock: use it in place of some of the cod or haddock for a deeper, smoky flavour.
Peas: stir a handful of frozen peas into the sauce before pouring it over the fish for a pop of sweetness.
Boiled eggs: tuck a few quartered hard-boiled eggs among the seafood for a classic fish pie touch.
Leeks: use sliced leeks in place of the shallots for a softer, milder base.
Final Thoughts
This fish pie Gordon Ramsay recipe is a good one to keep for Sunday lunches, family dinners or any time you want something cosy and special. Take care over the sauce, be gentle with the fish and let the pie rest before you serve it. Then enjoy the golden top and creamy, seafood-filled middle. For another cosy mash-topped dinner, try our Gordon Ramsay cottage pie.
