Fish pie is a traditional British

British people

The British are citizens of the United Kingdom, of the Isle of Man, any of the Channel Islands, or of any of the British overseas territories, and their descendants...

 dish. The pie

Pie

A pie is a baked dish which is usually made of a pastry dough casing that covers or completely contains a filling of various sweet or savoury ingredients....

 is usually made with white fish

Fish (food)

Fish is a food consumed by many species, including humans. The word "fish" refers to both the animal and to the food prepared from it. Fish has been an important source of protein for humans throughout recorded history.-Terminology:...

 (for example cod

Cod

Cod is the common name for genus Gadus, belonging to the family Gadidae, and is also used in the common name for various other fishes. Cod is a popular food with a mild flavor, low fat content and a dense, flaky white flesh. Cod livers are processed to make cod liver oil, an important source of...

, haddock

Haddock

The haddock , also known as the offshore hake, is a marine fish distributed on both sides of the North Atlantic. Haddock is a popular food fish and is widely fished commercially....

 or halibut

Halibut

Halibut is a flatfish, genus Hippoglossus, from the family of the right-eye flounders . Other flatfish are also called halibut. The name is derived from haly and butt , for its popularity on Catholic holy days...

) in a white or béchamel sauce made using the milk the fish was poached in. Prawns and hard boiled eggs are other common additional ingredients. It is oven

Oven

An oven is a thermally insulated chamber used for the heating, baking or drying of a substance. It is most commonly used for cooking. Kilns, and furnaces are special-purpose ovens...

-baked in a deep dish but is not usually made with the shortcrust or puff pastry

Pastry

Pastry is the name given to various kinds of baked products made from ingredients such as flour, sugar, milk, butter, shortening, baking powder and/or eggs. Small cakes, tarts and other sweet baked products are called "pastries."...

 casing that is associated with most savoury pies (e.g. steak and kidney pie

Steak and kidney pie

Steak and kidney pie is a savoury pie that is filled principally with a mixture of diced beef, diced kidney , fried onion, and brown gravy...

).

In place of a pastry casing enclosing the pie, a topping of mashed potato

Mashed potato

Mashed potato is made by mashing freshly boiled potatoes with a ricer, fork, potato masher, food mill, or whipping them with a hand beater. Dehydrated and frozen mashed potatoes are available in many places...

es (sometimes with cheese

Cheese

Cheese is a generic term for a diverse group of milk-based food products. Cheese is produced throughout the world in wide-ranging flavors, textures, and forms....

 or vegetables such as onion

Onion

The onion , also known as the bulb onion, common onion and garden onion, is the most widely cultivated species of the genus Allium. The genus Allium also contains a number of other species variously referred to as onions and cultivated for food, such as the Japanese bunching onion The onion...

s and leek

Leek

The leek, Allium ampeloprasum var. porrum , also sometimes known as Allium porrum, is a vegetable which belongs, along with the onion and garlic, to family Amaryllidaceae, subfamily Allioideae...

s added) is used to enclose the contents during baking. The dish is sometimes referred to as "fisherman's pie" because the topping is similar to that of shepherd's pie

Shepherd's pie

Cottage pie or shepherd's pie is a meat pie with a crust of mashed potato.The term cottage pie is known to have been in use in 1791, when the potato was being introduced as an edible crop affordable for the poor Cottage pie or shepherd's pie is a meat pie with a crust of mashed potato.The term...

, in that it uses mashed potatoes.

Regional variations

In Alaska

Alaska

Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...

, with fresh salmon

Salmon

Salmon is the common name for several species of fish in the family Salmonidae. Several other fish in the same family are called trout; the difference is often said to be that salmon migrate and trout are resident, but this distinction does not strictly hold true...

being a main staple, fish pie is an extremely popular dish with Alaskans. Alaskan fish pie varies from the British version in that it doesn't use mashed potatoes or other seafood. It has 3 basic ingredients, crust, fish, and rice. Usually made with either 1 of 2 styles of filling. The first type of filling is a layer of salmon and a layer of rice with a pastry topping. The second is the fish chopped and mixed in with the rice, usually with celery and other seasonings, covered by a layer of pastry.

External links

• Recipes for luxury fish pie and fisherman's pie from the BBC Food website.
• A recipe for fish pie from Delia Smith's website