Creamy and Rich Skillet Fisherman’s Pie

Think of this Fisherman’s Pie recipe as a cousin to Shepherd’s Pie. Leeks, herbs and white wine make a creamy broth in which a combination of shrimp, cod and smoked salmon are gently simmered. The “Pie” is covered with a layer of silky mashed potatoes, then gently broiled with melted butter to a golden color. What a beautiful presentation! This meal would please any Pescatarian, dinner guests or your family.

I am so excited to share this recipe with you! I thoroughly enjoyed making this recipe, and was so pleased with the result. I was transported to Great Britain. I could almost hear the call of seagulls and the smell of the ocean air.

Once I removed this bubbly skillet of golden mashed potatoes, I could hardly wait to dig in to the seafood that was nestled inside. The aroma was intoxicating. So, let’s reveal the recipe, shall we?

Yes! I spent a good hour, or so, with the the recipe prep. I babysat gently cooking the shrimp and fish, so it wouldn’t become rubbery and overcooked. I was so pleased with the outcome of this recipe. Can you tell? Let’s go back to the beginning, where this all started.

My inspiration began when I saw that America’s Test Kitchen/Cook’s Illustrated posted a link to their video for this recipe. (I have a paid subscription to their all-access website.) I realized that I had frozen cod and a bag of shrimp in my freezer. The rest of the ingredients… check and check! We begin with slicing and cleaning leeks. Cut the thawed cod into 1-inch chunks.

You’ll need smoked salmon and jumbo shrimp, thawed, deveined and butterflied.

Fisherman’s Pie needs mashed potatoes. Of course, you can boil your potatoes on the stove top. Me? I like to steam them in my Instant Pot Pressure Cooker. Once the potatoes are tender, they’re mashed with one egg yolk (for richness) and heavy cream. Yes, heavy cream! You can lighten them up, a bit, of course– switch to half and half or a combination with milk. The trick to to add just enough liquid, a little at a time, to make the potatoes really creamy and spreadable. Once they are done, cover them with a glass lid and pressed the WARM button. Done!

While the potatoes aresteaming, carefully measure out the rest of the ingredients– “mis en place“. I can’t emphasize enough how important these steps are! That way, I’m not frantically looking for an ingredient. Worse, I’m not horrified to discover that I’m missing a crucial ingredient! I’d say I spent between 30-40 minutes with the prep work. I should also mention, that I cut the ingredients in half, since it’s just the two of us.

We’re coming close to the finish line! It’s time to cook the seafood. NOTE: I tend to read comments from people who have made a specific recipe, in case there are important notes. A few people commented that the recipe was bland (really?) One person mentioned that, instead of using clam juice, they used Better than Bouillon Lobster Base. I happened to have a jar of it, and I decided to try that alteration. Spoiler alert: The recipe was far from tasting bland!

Begin by melting unsalted butter in a skillet. Add the leeks and fresh thyme. Add the white wine and cook until the wine has evaporated.

Add the flour and cook for about a minute. Add either clam juice (or, in my case, the lobster base) and stir until smooth. (My flat whisk is my go to tool for sauces like this.)

Add the heavy cream and whisk to combine. Give the sauce a taste. Mmmm, good!

The recipe says to add salt and pepper, at this time. I’d skip adding the salt! Add it only after you’ve tasted the sauce– you don’t want salty seafood, do you?

Add the fish, shrimp and smoked salmon. The sauce is at a gentle simmer, and not a boil! You want to gently cook the shrimp and fish, covered, so it doesn’t become tough.

I found that I needed to keep gently stirring the fish, until both the shrimp and cod were opaque– about five minutes, or so.

Taking a detour from the original recipe, instead of pouring the seafood into a casserole dish, I decided to keep it the skillet. Why not?

The trick to covering this creamy filling is to apply an even layer of mashed potatoes are the edge of the pot (or casserole dish). I used an ice cream scoop to cover the remaining filling, and an off set spatula to spread it evenly. As you can see, some of the filling leaked into the mashed potatoes topping. Hmmm… I wondered if that would be a problem (it wasn’t). Melt unsalted butter and drizzle all over the potatoes. Place the entire skillet (on top of a sheet pan) under the broiler.

Voila! As you can see, the potato topping turned out perfectly! The proof is always in the pudding, as the old saying goes.

I did read commenters who said that this “pie” was soupy. Sure, there’s some liquid, but I expected that. I suppose this could be remedied by increasing the amount of flour that’s added. I didn’t want to risk making seafood “glop”.

TASTING NOTES: While my husband loves Halibut and Salmon, he says he’s not the biggest fan of shrimp. He really liked this recipe. Amen. As for me, I really enjoyed this dish. A lot. I didn’t find the filling to be too soupy. In fact, it made a nice sauce to combine with the potatoes. What’s not to love about creamy potatoes? As for the saltiness, I’d definitely not add any salt until you’ve tasted the final seafood filling. The smoked salmon can be a bit overpowering, so go easy on that. I can see some versatility with this recipe. Because I used the Lobster Base, I was reminded of a Classic Lobster Thermidor dish I ate, in San Francisco, many years ago. I’m tempted to add mushrooms and lobster meat to the sauce. In fact, I just might do that! As always, Cook’s Illustrated recipes never disappoint. I’m so pleased with this recipe.