Fish pie hash

Top top

If you prefer oily fish, this recipe works really well with tinned sardines. There’s no need to poach the sardines so you can skip step 2 and simply flake them into the hash at step 4.

1. Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil, add the prepared veg and boil for 10-15 minutes or until cooked through. Drain (keep the pan to hand) and leave to steam dry in the colander. Meanwhile, cut the fish into 3cm chunks and put in the pan. Pour over milk to cover, add the bay leaf, then season with black pepper (you won’t need salt as the fish is quite salty). Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for 8 minutes or until the fish is just cooked through. Remove the pan from the heat, then use a slotted spoon to transfer the fish to a plate. Set the fish and poaching milk aside.

2. Heat the butter and a little olive oil in very large frying pan over a medium heat, add the spring onions and fry for 5 minutes. Stir in the mustard, then add the boiled veg and gently mash with a potato masher. You don’t want it to be super smooth but it should bind together (add around 200ml of the reserved poaching milk to help break it down if need be).

3. Fry without stirring for around 10 minutes, then flake in the fish chunks and coarsely grate the cheddar over the top. Season with salt and pepper, then fry for 20 minutes more, still not stirring, so the veg starts to crisp up and form a golden crust.

4. Once the hash is ready, fill a pan with freshly boiled water from a kettle. Add a generous pinch of salt, then poach or boil the eggs to your liking. Gently stir the spinach through the hash until wilted, then top with the poached or boiled eggs, snip over some fresh chives, season well and serve.

Recipe first published in Delicious Magazine.

Photography by David Loftus