• By Francesca Rilotelli
• Published 01/16/2013

It’s fantastic to see that the awesome J Sheekey fish restaurant in London has finally released a cookbook – their fish pie really has to be tasted to be believed. A favourite among theatregoers and visiting Hollywood stars (Homeland‘s Damian Lewis and Elizabeth Olsen are both fans), J Sheekey is a London dining institution.

Now, the world-renowned fish restaurant has finally released a cookbook, compiled by Allen Jenkins and Sheekey chef Tim Hughes. Packed with recipes and helpful how-to guides – you’ll never need to YouTube how to shell a lobster again – Fish is an essential for any seafood lovers’ bookshelf. Best of all, you can finally cook the legendary Sheekey fish pie at home. Here’s how…

To make the sauce, melt the butter in a heavy bottomed saucepan over a low heat and gently stir in the flour. Gradually add the wine, stirring well. Slowly add the fish stock (a good quality cube is fine) until you have a silky smooth sauce.

Bring to the boil and simmer gently for 15 minutes. To finish, add the cream and briefl y bring to the boil again. Stir in mustard, Worcestershire sauce, anchovy essence and lemon juice. (Add more mustard and Worcestershire sauce if you like it spicy.) Check seasoning.

Gently fold the fish and parsley into the hot sauce, and pour into a large pie dish, leaving a space of about 3cm from the top of the dish. Leave to cool, so the topping will sit on the sauce when piped. Pre-heat the oven to 190°C / gas mark 5. Mix butter and milk into the mashed potato until soft enough to spread over the fish mixture. Season. Pipe or gently fork to cover the fish. Bake the fish pie for 30 minutes. Sprinkle over the breadcrumbs and cheese, and bake for a further 10 minutes until golden.

Now all you have to do is dig in!

About the Author : Francesca Rilotelli is writing about Fish pie