Variation on Fish Pie

I haven't been to the shops much this week ... in fact, I've hardly been outside the door this week!  So I've been getting creative with what I could find in the house to cook and last night was a triumph!  Using my newly re-awakened skills, I came up with a rather delicious variation on the more traditional fish pie: plaice & prawn pie with a lemon and tarragon sauce.

Some plaice fillets that my husband had bought for me a couple of months ago (he's not a fan of flatfish) were lurking at the bottom of the freezer, along with some prawns and other seafood.  I defrosted the fish and a bag of raw prawns during the day, then cooked the plaice in the oven (in milk and tarragon, covered with foil).  Meanwhile, I peeled and sliced four large potatoes and boiled them in lightly salted water until almost cooked.

When the fish was almost done, I sauteed the prawns in some oil and butter, then squeezed the juice of half a lemon over them.  I turned down the heat, added some flour to make a roux, then slowly added some cold milk while stirring the mixture.  I took the fish from the oven and added the cooking liquid to the prawns, along with some more tarragon, then brought it to the boil, still stirring with total commitment!  I turned down the heat again when the sauce had boiled and thickened, added a few frozen peas and the flaked plaice fillets.  (Oh yeah, I also added a tiny tin of Weight Watchers tuna in "coronation-style dressing" that I had in the cupboard, which was disgusting in sandwiches!!)

It all went into a large Pyrex dish, topped with the drained potato slices, a little melted butter and a sprinkle of grated cheese (made a lovely change from the usual mashed potato topping), then it was popped back into the oven (high heat) while I prepared and steamed some carrots and French beans to accompany it.  The end result looked, smelled and tasted scrummy!  (Plus there was enough left to freeze a portion or two ... which was why I opted to use raw prawns in the first place!)

Oh, and in case you were wondering ... my non-flatfish loving hubby thought it was delicious too and enjoyed a large portion, scraping the plate clean!!