Gordon Ramsay’s fish pie is salmon, cod, scallops and prawns folded into a Noilly Prat cream sauce, topped with cheesy Cheddar mash and baked until golden and bubbling. The fish goes in raw and cooks inside the sauce, so it comes out tender instead of rubbery. Ready in about 45 minutes, serves four to six.
Gordon is blunt about fish pie in his Ultimate Cookery Course. He writes: “I can never understand why most fish pie recipes require you to pre-cook the fish in milk, then subject it to 30 minutes in the oven. No wonder the fish is often chewy or turned into mush.” His version skips that entirely, and the fish is better for it.
The real secret is a bottle of Noilly Prat. He says it plainly: “Invest in a bottle of Noilly Prat, that, rather than the type of stock, is what gives the sauce its flavour.” It’s dry vermouth, and it does more for a fish sauce than any stock cube ever will.
Gordon Ramsay Fish Pie
Course: DinnerCuisine: BritishDifficulty: Medium4-6
servings20
minutes30
minutes580
kcalGordon’s fish pie from his Ultimate Cookery Course. Salmon, cod, scallops and prawns in a Noilly Prat cream sauce, topped with Cheddar and egg-yolk mash, baked golden. The fish goes in raw for tender, flaky results.
Ingredients
- For the sauce:
2 large shallots, chopped
2 tbsp olive oil
40g butter
1 large thyme sprig, leaves only
4 tbsp Noilly Prat or dry vermouth
2 tsp Pernod (optional)
4 tbsp plain flour
250ml fish, chicken or vegetable stock
200ml milk
4 tbsp double cream
3 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
- For the fish:
180g skinless salmon fillets
250g skinless cod or haddock fillets
200g queen scallops
150g king prawns
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
Sea salt and black pepper
- For the topping:
750g Desirée potatoes, peeled
75g butter, cubed
50ml hot milk
2 large egg yolks
75g Cheddar, grated
Directions
- Make the mash: Boil the potatoes until tender, drain and push through a ricer or mash smooth. Stir in the butter and hot milk, cool slightly, then beat in the egg yolks. Season and set aside.
- Build the sauce: Sauté the shallots in the oil and butter with the thyme for about 5 minutes until soft. Add the Noilly Prat and Pernod if using, cook 4 to 5 minutes until reduced right down. Stir in the flour and cook a minute. Gradually stir in the hot stock until smooth, boil 5 minutes until reduced by a third. Mix in the milk, simmer a few minutes, then add the cream and parsley. Season well.
- Assemble raw: Heat the oven to 200C (180C fan, Gas 6). Cut the salmon and cod into bite-sized chunks and scatter in a greased 2-litre pie dish with the scallops and prawns. Sprinkle with lemon juice and seasoning.
- Pour and top: Pour the sauce over the fish and mix gently with a fork. Spread the mash on top, fluff with a fork, scatter with the Cheddar.
- Bake: Put in immediately. Bake 10 minutes at 200C, then turn down to 180C (160C fan, Gas 4) and bake another 20 minutes, turning if it browns unevenly. Let it stand 10 minutes before serving.
The fish cooks inside the sauce in the oven, which is Gordon’s whole point. No poaching in milk first, no double-cooking, no rubbery results. The chunks go in raw, the hot sauce and the oven do the rest, and the fish comes out flaky and just set.
FAQs
Why Noilly Prat and not just white wine?
Noilly Prat is dry vermouth, and Gordon calls it the secret to this pie. It’s more complex than wine, with herbal notes that round out the fish sauce without sharpness.
A splash of Pernod on top adds a faint anise warmth, barely noticeable but it lifts the whole thing. If you can’t find Noilly Prat, any dry vermouth works. Plain white wine is fine but the sauce won’t have the same depth.
Why does the fish go in raw?
Because pre-cooking fish then baking it for 30 minutes overcooks it twice. Gordon says this is why most fish pies end up chewy or mushy.
His method: cut the fish into chunks, scatter it in the dish raw, pour the sauce over, top with mash and bake. The fish cooks once, gently, inside the sauce, and comes out tender and flaky.
What’s the posh version with oysters and scallops?
From another of his books. He swaps the cod and prawns for 6 fresh oysters and 6 sea scallops alongside the salmon, adds basil leaves to the sauce instead of parsley, and uses Parmesan on top instead of Cheddar.
The oysters enrich and season the filling with their natural salt. It’s the same method, just more luxurious fish. Save it for when you want to show off.
Can I use puff pastry instead of mash?
Gordon does exactly this in his Make It Easy book. He bakes the fish in the sauce from raw, then tops each serving with a crisp puff pastry oval baked separately. The sauce is richer too: white wine, Noilly Prat, fish stock and double cream reduced together, with tarragon instead of parsley.
It’s lighter than the mash version and looks more elegant on the plate.
What happened with the James May fish pie challenge?
On the F Word, James May challenged Gordon to a fish pie cook-off, and Gordon lost. The diners voted 32-32, then chose James’s version over his.
Gordon’s response is unprintable, but he took it on the chin. It’s a good reminder that a simpler fish pie, made well, can beat a chef’s version if the flavours are right.
What fish works best?
A mix. Gordon uses salmon for richness, cod or haddock for flaky white flesh, scallops for sweetness and prawns for bite. You want at least two types so the filling has layers of flavour and texture.
Avoid anything too delicate like sole, it falls apart. Smoked haddock works well if you like a smokier pie, just use half smoked and half fresh so it doesn’t overpower. If you want another way to serve salmon, his salmon wellington wraps it in pastry with spinach.
Does it reheat well?
It does, but gently. Cover with foil and warm at 160C for 15 to 20 minutes. The mash protects the fish underneath so it doesn’t dry out.
It doesn’t freeze as well as shepherd’s or cottage pie because the fish can go watery when thawed. Best made fresh and eaten within two days. For a dessert after, something light like his crème brûlée suits a creamy pie better than a heavy pudding.
