I believe there are many varieties but the real classic country style one consists of a few basic ingredients
a
selection of fish ( usually cod, haddock, salmon or trout ), sliced,
fried mushroom, parsley, boiled eggs (chopped ), white sauce and potato for topping
I prefer a variety with petit pois and cheddar instead of flaky
pastry topping but when it comes to ingredients, the world is your,
nomen omen, oyster :)
Some people add sweet corn, others shiitake mushroom, there is also
smoked salmon and seafood variety ( a selection of white raw and smoked
fish + prawns/crayfish )
My basic recipe ( for our family of 8)
approx 1 kg fish ( haddock, cod, salmon strips, any seafoood )
1/2 litre milk ( or 2 cans coconut milk at the moment )
1 lemon , sliced
1 bay leaf
a spring of fresh thyme
2-3 TBSPs butter
1 pack ( 500 g peas- petit pois )- defrosted or cooked from frozen
1 cup chopped parsley
salt and pepper
a pinch of mace or nutmeg
there is also plain flour in the original recipe (aprox 10 level TBSPs )
as we are avoiding grains and gluten at the moment
I try to substitute with coconut flour & arrowroot mixture) approx 3 TBSPs in total
for topping
1 kg potatoes cooked and mashed with a splash of milk and 2 good TBSPs of butter
grated cheddar ( if you wish )
3-4 sliced tomatoes ( optional )
Put the fish in a saucepan with a pinch of salt, pepper, bay leaf,
thyme, topping with lemon slices and just enough milk to almost cover
the content.
Cover pan, bring slowly to boil , remove from the heat and leave covered for about 5 min.
Drain the fish reserving cooking liquid.
Skin and flake the fish removing any bones.
Melt butter in a smaller pan, stir in thickener / flour and cook gently for a minute or so.
Add the reserved milk and bring to boil.
Stir in the parsley and season to taste with salt, pepper and mace.
Mix fish, peas and sauce together
Transfer the mixture to an ovenproof casserole dish
Preheat the oven to 200C
Beat the mashed potato with butter until creamy . Season and spread over the fish.
Fork up the surface. Arrange the sliced tomatoes around the edges.
Sprinkle the middle with grated cheddar ( or glaze with egg white).
Bake for 20-30 min until golden brown.