Matilda and the Ramsay Bunch - Stargazy Pie

Remember – grown ups like you to tell them if you’re cooking with hot or sharp things!

SERVES 5

• To make the filling, pour the milk into a large pan and add the sliced onion and bay leaves. Season with salt and pepper. Place the fish fillets in the pan and bring to a very gentle simmer, then cover and cook for 2 minutes.
• Remove the pan from the heat and leave to stand and infuse for 10 minutes. Ask an adult to help carefully drain the fish through a colander into a bowl, then pour the milk into a jug.
• To make the mashed potato, put the potatoes in a large saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat slightly and cook for 18-20 minutes or until very soft.
• Ask an adult to help drain the potatoes in a colander, then return to the saucepan and add the butter and cream. Mash until smooth, then season with salt and pepper and add the grated cheese. Beat well with a wooden spoon. Preheat the oven to 200C/fan oven 180C/Gas 6.
• To finish the filling, melt the butter in a medium non-stick saucepan and stir in the flour. Cook for a few seconds, then gradually add the flavoured milk, a little at a time, stirring with a long wooden spoon.
• Cook over a medium heat for 1-2 minutes, stirring constantly until the sauce is smooth and thick. Stir in the peas, mustard and cheese and season with salt and black pepper.
• Spoon roughly a third of the sauce into the base of a 1.5 litre ovenproof dish. Scatter half the fish fillets over the sauce, breaking them into chunky pieces as you go and discarding the onion and bay leaves. Spoon over another third of the sauce. Add the rest of the fish and with the final third of sauce.
• Spoon the mashed potato gently over the fish mixture, then swirl the surface with the back of a dessert spoon.
• Place the dish on a baking tray and bake in the centre of the oven for about 25 minutes or until the top is golden and the filling is hot. Ask an adult to take the pie from the oven and decorate it with pastry fishes, see below.

• 75g cold butter, cubed
• 150g plain flour, plus extra for rolling
• 1-2 tbsp cold water
• beaten egg, to glaze

1. Rub the butter into the flour until it forms breadcrumbs. Add enough cold water to bring the dough together. Knead lightly on a floured surface and roll out thickly until around 1.25cm thick.
2. Use a fish or shark shaped cutter, and star cutters, to cut out fish head and tail shapes and small stars.
3. Place on a baking tray lined with baking parchment and brush with beaten egg. Bake for 25-30 minutes, at 200C/fan oven 180C/Gas 6, or until nicely browned and cooked through. Cool for a few minutes on the tray.
4. Place in the hot mashed potato topping after baking the pie.