Mid-week Treat: Bombay Duck Fish Pie

I bought a bright, shiny red pie pan approximately a year and a half ago in the hopes of becoming a regular pie-baker. I don't know if that's the right term, but you get the drift. I did look up some sweet pie recipes, but was so intimidated that I didn't venture out into that territory.The tin just sat on the rack where I store my baking supplies calling out for a spin in the oven. Until, one day when I had a crazy day at work and just couldn't make the time to cook a full Indian meal for lunch.

I looked in the freezer - there were two kinds of fish - Pomfret and Bombay Duck. If Bombay Duck being a fish confuses you, I can relate to it. When I was little, I couldn't wrap my head around the concept either. It's a lovely, soft, delicate fish, native only to the waters along the western coast of India. For a seafood junkie, it is love at first bite but it may well be an acquired taste for others.

I've always had it the traditional way - shallow fried with a crispy, masala-batter coating. I wondered, if I could make a fish pie out of this delicious catch. A savoury pie didn't seem as scary. I Googled 'fish pie', and chanced upon a Jamie Oliver recipe.

Now is probably a good time to tell you that am a big fan of JO. He is responsible for my obsession with attempting to grow fresh herbs, tomatoes, lemons, strawberries and what-have-you. So far I have succeeded with coriander, mint and a lemon tree is spreading it's branches in my balcony. Hopefully we'll have some lemons to sample this summer.

Back to my pie though. JO's recipe looked so easy (one of the reasons we love him so much), included veggies and was topped with a delicious potato mash instead of a pastry. Looked like a wholesome meal to me. Here's the original recipe: Jamie Oliver's Fish Pie.

While JO's recipe calls for a variety of seafood, I used about half a kilo of Bombay Duck and veggies. Also, you can poach the fish for a few seconds in some boiling water and tease out the bones easily. Since Bombay Duck tends to have a lot of water content, I tossed the meat in some rice flour to avoid a soggy pie. From there on, I pretty much stuck to the rest of the instructions in the recipe.

The baked potato mash on top is glorious. If you do bake this wonder, be sure to coat it with some olive oil to give it a lovely golden finish. We really enjoyed our lunch that afternoon and the leftovers made for a cozy dinner.

What is your fave simple, one dish meal?