Fennel Fish Pie

And thoughts on Big Supermarket Data...

Pie Month is coming to a close, and tomorrow I turn 30. You could say the final pie quite fittingly demonstrates my growth as a person. I have never been a picky eater, or held many culinary dislikes, but when I was a child my answer to the question “what food don’t you like?” was always Fish Pie. Cheesy mash, boiled egg and fish all together in a sloppy mess gave me the creeps. Now though, I am a grown up and I have learnt that Fish Pie is what you make it. It does not have to be slop! Introducing…

I have made some changes to the pub classic Fish Pie here - most importantly the additions of fennel and wine, and the use of a pastry lid instead of a mash one. We have teeth and it is my belief that we should use them. (Mash on the side is a good idea though). I have also sent the peas and eggs packing because nobody wants them here.

This week’s pie is the first of Pie Month to use puff pastry. There is no point trying to make puff pastry better than the shops - it’s basically as hard as making croissants, what’s the point? Pop that ready-rolled sheet in your basket, and save your sweat for another day… plenty of time for that. This speedy little number is a midweek friend.

Fennel Fish Pie

500g fish (a mix of salmon and cod or haddock is good, but use whichever are your favourites), skin removed, cut into 1 inch chunks
300ml double cream
Juice of half a lemon
Small glass of white wine
1 bulb of fennel
1 leek
375g sheet of puff pastry
50g butter
1 egg for washing
1 small bunch of dill, finely chopped
2 tsp Dijon mustard
Salt and pepper

1. Reserve a teaspoon of butter for greasing the pie tin and turn your oven on to 180°c fan. Make your sauce base by finely chopping the fennel and leek and sautéeing in the rest of the butter in a heavy bottomed pot for 10 minutes on a medium heat. Add salt so that the vegetables release their juices and do not burn, and stir every couple of minutes.

2. When the mixture looks translucent and soft, add your white wine, stirring well. Allow to simmer for 2-3 minutes while the sauce turns creamy, then add the double cream and mustard and turn the heat off.

3. Add both the fish and the dill to the pot along with the lemon juice, and the salt and pepper. Give it all a good stir. Cook for no longer than 30 seconds - you don’t really want to cook the fish here as it will continue to cook in the oven and you want the pieces to retain their shape. Remove the pan from the heat and immediately transfer into your cooler pie dish. Grease the edges of it with butter.

4. Now get your puff pastry lid (it should be rolled to the correct thickness, but if you have a block it should be about the thickness of a pound coin. I like to reserve a little to make a pastry fish on the top, just to keep things interesting. Whisk your egg and brush the pastry so that it is evenly covered.

5. Place the pie in your hot oven and cook for 35 minutes or until the pastry is golden. I like to take the pie out at the 15 minute mark to give it another go with the egg wash for an extra golden brown colour. Serve with buttery mashed potatoes and green veg.

---

On loyalty cards and food shop data

Seeing excellent photographer Harry Mitchell’s Instagram stories about buying a tub of Philadelphia at Tesco and then being advertised the company’s vegan version on Instagram got me thinking.

Under capitalism, consumer data from loyalty schemes like Nectar or Tesco Club Cards is used to boost profits by promoting goods to try to shape our buying habits and lives. Every single day. But imagine what good could be done with all that data!

Information on the most popular food items in regions and countries is powerful. Instead of us feeling lucky when Sainsbury’s gives us a quid off our most oft purchased block of Cheddar, that data could be used to help meet the needs of people, and be part of a controlled plan of production. We could be using it to drive the reduction of food waste, and to help us combine existing supply chains so that food spends less time in transport. There are literally hundreds of useful ways that data could be used which don’t involve being sold to third parties so that products are advertised back to us.

But sinisterly, Harry Mitchell didn’t even use a loyalty card when his Philadelphia was bought and then advertised back to him. Seems The Big Four supermarkets have us in their grip in more ways than we know. Food corporations, please! Get your fat cat hands off our receipts - or at least do something useful with your snooping.

I hope you enjoyed Pie Month, and that you found a pie to suit your needs. Pie power to the people. I’ll see you next week!