There’s little doubt that the United Kingdom now one of the richest, most diverse dining scenes in the world, with Indian, Spanish, Japanese and Italian dishes now more as common place than fish n’ chips. But that’s not to say that classic British creations have been tossed out with the dishwater. In fact restaurants like St. John in Spitalfields have played a major part in reviving them. (St John bar and restaurant).

Whilst here, why not try this very simple recipe for a classic British fish pie. Try not to succumb to buying frozen fish from the supermarket, rather the fresh variety that, if staying in the West End, you could pick up from the Berwick Street market.

British Fish Pie (Serves 4)

• 400 grams salmon fillets
• 400 grams white fish fillets
• 200 grams cooked prawns
• 1 chopped brown onion
• 1 bay leaf
• 3 cups milk
• 100 grams butter
• ¼ cup plain flour
• ½ cup thin cream
• 1 tbs chopped dill
• 1 tbs chopped chives
• 4 medium potatoes, peeled, boiled and chopped

Preheat oven to 180 °C, then simmer the fish in a large frying pan for 5 minutes with the bay leaf, onion and two cups of milk. Once cool break fish into large chunks and set aside. Keep the milk mixture. Strain this into a jug and also set aside. In another saucepan melt half the butter, add the flour and stir for about 5 minutes or until you have a roux. Slowly add the milk mixture and stir until you have a thick, smooth sauce. Remove from the heat; add half the cream and season to taste.In large bowl, toss this with the prawns, cooked fish, dill and chives. Transfer the lot to deep ovenproof dish. Mash potatoes with remaining milk, butter and cream and spoon on top to form a ‘lid’. Bake for 20 minutes or until potato is starting to turn brown and eat immediately! Photo Credit: wine scribbler l.