This is a simple fish pie to put together and you can make fish pie from scratch using only a microwave oven – this is cooking from scratch using just a microwave oven.  Yes, it’s “nicer” if you can grill the top when you’ve finished, but if you look at a lot of ready meals, they don’t brown the top! If this bothers you, buy a small Blow Torch for Cooking, as often seen on TV!

This week, having bought a couple of new Poundland oval baking dishes, I decided to use those and make a fish pie or two.  The fish pie mix I bought from Aldi was enough for four portions, but I had frozen the whole pack in one lump, so decided to make two generously stuffed fish pies instead.  I also needed to free up some freezer space.

How can you make a fish pie in a microwave?

1. Fish: You can poach the fish in the microwave, it takes just ~3 minutes
2. White Sauce: You can make a white sauce in the microwave, it takes just ~3 minutes
3. Egg layer, if used: You can microwave boiled eggs
4. Mashed potato topping: You can microwave mashed potatoes.

Bring all those together and you have a fish pie prepared entirely in the microwave.  Niceties, such as browning the top are just optional extras.

Apologies for the photos, it was dark by the time I’d finished, with a raging storm outside – and the kitchen’s a little too dimly lit for better photos!

Microwave Fish Pie Ingredients:

• 300 grams fish pie mix, mine had cod, salmon and smoked haddock! I picked it up when it had a half price sticker on it at Aldi.
• 400-450 grams of mashed potato (made with potato, knob of butter, splash of milk), or you can use packet potato, or even frozen potato.
• 60 grams of frozen peas (half a mug or so/by eye), defrosted in boiling water, or a tin of peas if you’ve no freezer.
• 20 grams butter/margarine + 15-20 grams of flour + milk for the sauce.
• 2 hard boiled eggs, optional
  

Method:

1. Boil a kettle, put the frozen peas in a mug, fill the mug with boiling water and put to one side for the peas to defrost.
2. Place the fish, in a single layer, in a microwave safe dish.  Almost cover the fish with milk, it doesn’t matter if some bits are showing. I use blue top/whole milk, but whatever you’ve got.
   
3. Cover the dish and microwave on 80% for a minute at a time, turning the fish pieces every minute, for a total of about 3 minutes.  If you’re a “food fiddler” like me, you might just break the fish up slightly each time you turn it, so it’s in smaller pieces.  The fish has now been poached.
4. SAVE THE MILK: Strain and separate the fish/milk.
   
5. Make a white sauce in the microwave by melting a spoon of margarine or butter, then adding a rounded spoon of flour to it and beating those together until they’re smooth.  Then add some of the strained fishy milk, beating the sauce smooth.  Microwave for 3-4 minutes or so, alternately adding a little more of the milk and beating the sauce smooth and microwaving it until the sauce is hot/cooked and smooth and the consistency that you want it to be. Recipe for Microwave White Sauce.
6. Drain the peas of water in the mug and microwave the peas for 30-60 seconds.  Add the peas to the fish mix.  Add the sauce to the fish and peas.  Combine all three and spoon into your cooking dishes.
   
7. Slice the hard boiled eggs and make a layer on top of the fish pie mix.  I microwave boiled my eggs: Microwave Boiled Egg.
   
8. Microwave the mashed potato until it’s hot and spoon on top of the fish pie.
   
   Optional: You might wish to brown the top under a grill; you might wish to sprinkle some cheese, or slice a tomato on top and grill it.  These are optional.

Serve!

This fish pie was much better than any ready meal, or frozen ready meal I’ve ever had – and it was stuffed full of fresh fish in a nice thick white sauce and the mash was “just how I like it”…. I kind of wish I’d made four of them 🙂

Storing and Freezing Fish Pie

Of these two fish pies, I ate one immediately.  The other one went into the fridge for tomorrow, I slid the dish inside a freezer bag as it was handy.  To reheat, if you’ve used a microwave safe dish (which my two appear to be), the fish pie can be reheated by cooking on full power in the microwave for about 3 minutes – you’ll know when it’s cooked as it’ll be hot in the middle.

You can freeze this fish pie.  Your dish needs to be freezer-safe.  To reheat from frozen it’ll take longer – your dish will then need to be oven safe and it’ll take about 20-25 minutes at about 180-190C.