Cheesy Fish Chowder Pie combines fish pie mix, sweetcorn, leek and cornichons in a cheese sauce topped with a puff pastry lid! Simply divine!
After taking a pack of fish pie mix out of the freezer the other day I had no idea what I was going to make with it.
By tea time I was googling for inspiration and came across my own Fish Pie recipe (fancy that) but realising I had some puff pastry that needed using up and having seen various other fish pie recipes I was inspired to take my original recipe and give it a twist in this Cheesy Fish Chowder Pie!
I also happened to have the remainder of a pot of clotted cream that we’d had with our Christmas pudding so I used that up too! It did feel good to get all these bits used up and in such a delicious way.
I enjoyed making the fish shapes for the pie crust.
The intention was to have some air bubbles going upwards but a lack of room meant they had to go at the bottom defying gravity! We’ll call it artistic license.
You can, of course, learn from my mistake and have them going the right way!
More Fish Pie Recipes!
I asked some fellow bloggers for their fish pie recipes and this is what they had to offer:
- Fish Pie – Fab Food 4 All
- Crumble Topped Ocean Pie – Supper in the Suburbs
- Sweet Potato Crispy Topped Fish Pie – Foodie Quine
- Fish Pie with Mustard Mash – Family Friends Food
- Fish Pie – Food to Glow
- Fish Pie Stuffed Pancakes – Fuss Free Flavours
- Kavey’s Chorizo, Cod and Pea Fish Pie – Kavey Eats
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Leave a comment and rating below when you’ve made this recipe; I love getting your feedback! You can also share your pictures by tagging @FabFood4All over on Instagram.
Cheesy Fish Chowder Pie
Ingredients
- 400 g Fish Pie Mix (pieces of smoked haddock, cod, salmon etc) fresh or frozen
- 4 Peppercorns
- 1 Leek sliced
- 1 x 325 g Tin sweetcorn
- 200 ml Fish stock from poaching the fish
- 200 ml Semi-skimmed milk
- 25 g Plain flour
- 25 g Butter
- 1 tablespoon Clotted cream optional, I just happened to have it
- 1 teaspoon Whole grain mustard
- 90 g Extra mature Cheddar cheese
- 10 Cornichons or to taste
- 1 x 320 g Pre-rolled puff pastry sheet
- 1 Egg whisked to use as egg wash
Instructions
- Place the fish, peppercorns and sliced leeks in a pan and cover with water.
- Bring the boil and then simmer for 5 minutes or until fish is cooked through (if using frozen fish simmer for 10 minutes).
- Skim away any scum from the surface.
- Drain the fish mixture over a bowl, removing the peppercorns and reserving the fish stock.
- To make the sauce put 200 mls fish stock, milk, butter, cream (if using) and flour in a pan and bring to a simmer whisking constantly until thickened.
- Add the mustard and grated cheese and mix well until melted.
- Then add the fish, cornichons and sweetcorn.
- Unroll the pastry sheet and using an upturned deep pie dish as a template cut around it with a knife to form the pie lid.
- Pre-heat the oven to 200°C.
- Cut 3 narrow strips from the edge of the remaining pastry and use these to cover the rim of the pie dish, breaking off any excess (wet the base with a pastry brush).
- Brush the outer rim of the pastry lid with water and place on top of the pie.
- Cut out fish shapes etc brushing with water to adhere to the pie.
- Pierce a whole with a knife under one of the fish for ventilation.
- Crimp the edges together by putting your left hand index finger and thumb on top of the edge pulling the pastry upwards with your right hand index finger going along the whole rim until finished.
- Brush the egg wash over the pie.
- Place pie in the oven and bake for 20 minutes until golden and cooked through.
- Serve with vegetables of your choice.
Amy Fidler
such a lovely looking pie x
Amy Fidler
My kind of pie x
A S,Edinburgh
I love the decoration! I don’t think I’ve seen clotted cream used with fish before… it’s a brilliant idea; it’s so buttery and rich it must be a great combination.
Camilla
Thanks, it was a fab pie-)
Maya Russell
I like the fact that this can be made with any fish and on a tight budget.
Camilla
Thanks Maya, I buy fish when on offer or reduced and freeze it:-)
Pippa
Sounds lovely, but I worry that the fish is so full of water it makes the sauce really watery which has happened to me several times when making a fish pie with mash. Maybe pre cooking the fish with extract the water?
Camilla
Hi Pippa, the fish in this pie is cooked and then drained so there is no excess water coming from it. We had this last week and the sauce is definitely not watery.
Dannii @ Hungry Healthy Happy
I love cheesy pies – they are just so comforting. Nice presentation on the pie to!!
Camilla
Thanks Dannii, can’t beat a cheesy pie:-)
peter @feedyoursoultoo
The inside looks so tasty. but that crust and the cute fish design make this a sure fire recipe.
Camilla
Thank you Peter, I really enjoyed making the fish:-)
Patty Haxton Anderson
Putting it all in a crust was a fabulous idea Camilla!
Camilla
Thanks Patty:-)
Helen @ Fuss Free Flavours
Oh, I bet that clotted cream makes it super indulgent and rich.
Love your pastry fish too.
Camilla
Thanks Helen yes we found lots of ways to use up the clotted cream:-)
Sarah James
Your fish pie looks delicious Camilla & I love the bubbles where they are 🙂 Perfect for this time of year.
Camilla
Thank you so much Sarah, artistic licence:-)
Mimi
I love puff pastry, and this looks DELISH. Not much of a cook myself but I’ll pass this on to my boyfriend to make for me! Hehe x
Camilla
Thanks Mimi, hope he makes it for you:-)
tracey bowden
I have never had a fish pie like this before and yours looks delicious, I reckon I could even get my little fussy eater to try this if I managed to make it and for it to be edible too!
Camilla
Tracey for extra brownie points and to get your little one to eat it try adding his or her name too to the decoration, it worked wonders when I made a pie once that my daughter told me in no uncertain terms she wasn’t going to eat!
Mayuri Patel
I don’t eat fish but must say the crust looks so flaky and nice. Love the cute little fish also.
Camilla
Thank you Mayuri:-)
Life as Mum
Oh wow. This looks absoloutely delicious! Something me and my partner would love.
Camilla
Thanks Beth, glad you like it:-)
Anthea Holloway
I love the sound of this one and the pastry looks delicious.
Camilla
Thank you Anthea:-)
StressedMum
This sounds lovely, I am making a pie this week might have to change the ingredients to a fish one 🙂
Camilla
Thank you! Great:-)
Rachel
This is my idea of heaven with some mash, it looks mouthwateringly amazing x
Camilla
Thanks Rachel, it was lush:-)
Sarah
Hi Camilla, I was the winner of your OXO comp to win a frying pan and food storers. They were delivered yesterday and are just super and very high quality, what a great prize! Thanks again 🙂
Camilla
Excellent Sarah so glad you like your prizes, I do have very high standards:-)
My Make Up Life
I bet fish lovers would love this. Really love the little fish onto of the pie. Haven’t had pie in ages, might make a mince one tonight
Camilla
Love your diplomacy, good luck with your mince pie, something I’ve never made!
Martina Evans
This looks fab! I just love fish pie, and yours looks incredibly delicious. The crust in particular looks really tasty!
Camilla
Thank you Martina, it was a fab pie:-)
Platter Talk
What a fun and original idea you have here; most of all it looks delicious! Thanks for sharing another great food idea!
Camilla
Thank you so much:-)
Rachel In Real Life
Oh I love fish pie, not had it for ages and never tried it with a pastry topping. I might have to try that this week.
Camilla
Thanks Rachel, I hadn’t either but when you need to use up ingredients it can lead to happy discoveries:-)
Heidi Roberts
I love fish pie – I usually put mashed potatoes on top of mine!
Camilla
I’m too lazy for that and usually opt for breadcrumbs:-)
Choclette
How cute do those little fishes look. I’m with Becca and would definitely go with pastry.
Camilla
Thank you Choclette, I’m just too lazy to fiddle with a mash topping LOL!
Ana De- Jesus
Wow what an incredible design. Art was never my speciality so you can imagine what my pie would look like lol,
Camilla
Aaw thanks Ana, I wasn’t the best artist at school but loved my still life and landscapes, people were a complete no no though:-)
Emma White
oh what a fantastic idea – the kids would love this I’m very lucky that all 6 love fish
Camilla
Thanks Emma, there was a day when my daughter said she wasn’t going to eat a particular pie I was making so I put her name on it with some hearts, she was so happy she ate her portion all up:-)
Dom
oooh, I love how thick and creamy that filling looks and I adore the addition of sweetcorn. Glorious glossy pastry too. Love this x
Camilla
Aah, thank you so much Dom, it was delicious:-)
Emma
Fab looking pie Camilla you can see from the colour of that pastry it’s just cooked to perfection 🙂 I’ve never added cornichons before but can see that could work. Great recipe! And thanks for thr link x
Camilla
Thanks Emma, yes the cornichons when really well, might even add a few more next time:-)
Elizabeth
Mmm I’m loving the sound of this! I’m a big fan of fish pies and I really like your tweaks on the classic dish! Yum!
Camilla
Me too! Thank you Elizabeth:-)
Anne
Oh I love fish pie, proper comfort food! Love your fishies on top!
Camilla
Thank you Anne, it’s nice to get a bit creative:-)
Lisa Williams
I saw the outside on facebook but the inside looks so good really tasty 🙂
Camilla
Thank you Lisa:-)
Kavey
Looks really lovely and I agree, pastry lid for a fish pie appeals to me too!
With your fish air bubbles, couldn’t you turn the pie 180 degrees and then the bubbles would be above them? 😉
Camilla
Thanks Kavey. Now why on earth didnt I think of that!!!
Heather Haigh
That looks so good! You’ve got a fantastic glaze on the pastry and it sounds just delicious.
Camilla
Thanks Heather:-)
nazima
such a beautiful pastry cover. We love fish pie. Must try this and the fish cutouts on top, the kids will love it
Camilla
Thank you so much Nazima, yes quite pleased with my first attempt at pastry fish LOL:-)
wendy malone
The crust on this looks yummy, the contents i bet are yummier.
Camilla
Thank you Wendy, it was delicious:-)
Becca @ Amuse Your Bouche
Ooh I love this new take on a fish pie – I’ll take pastry over mashed potato any day 😉
Camilla
Thanks Becca, I agree on that one:-)