Mary Berry's Unusual Secret To The Most Luxurious Fish Pie

Mary Berry isn’t afraid to switch up a classic recipe. She uses tortillas in place of pasta sheets in her speedy “Mexican lasagne” recipe, for instance ― wraps form the base of her no-fuss midweek quiche too. And her posh version of cottage pie is topped not with mash, but with creamy, cheesy dauphinoise.

So perhaps I shouldn’t be surprised to learn that the former Great British Bake-Off host’s fish pie recipe has a similarly decadent topping. In her elevated version of the dish, Mary’s “fish pie with a twist” boasts a topping most chefs would be proud to present. What’s her topping? Mary adds a “fancy soufflé style topping” to the usually humble meal.



After cooking off her leeks and forming a roux, she seasons the sauce and adds fish to it. Then, she spoons the pie base into a casserole dish with some hard-boiled eggs and places it on the counter ’til cold, then in the fridge until hardened. Once it’s chilled, the Cordon Bleu-trained chef starts on her soufflé, copping some crustless white bread into chunks.

She puts cream cheese, butter and cheese in a pan until melted, setting it aside to cool when she starts whisking egg whites in a separate, “spotlessly clean” bowl. After the egg whites have reached stiff peaks, Mary adds salt and pepper to them before gently folding the mixture into the cheese and butter along with the bread chunks. That goes on top of the chilled fish pie mix before hitting the oven for 20-25 minutes, or “until golden-brown and bubbling.

” Mary’s not the only chef to combine the two Delia Smith has a similar recipe , sharing that most cuts of white fish “instantly become more special when made into a fluffy soufflé.” Her recipe incorporates the fish into the batter, rather than sitting underneath it, though. Chef Marcello Tully does separate his fish-infused soufflé from its spinach base and creamy sauce, but doesn’t keep the haddock away from the topping.

You can’t say Mary isn’t original...

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