Mary Berry Luxury Fish Pie Recipe

I have a standard fish pie recipe on this site that I make regularly and love completely. But when someone is coming who deserves something genuinely special — a significant birthday, a celebration, an occasion where you want the dinner to be genuinely memorable — I make this version instead.

The luxury fish pie uses smoked salmon alongside the white fish and smoked haddock, adds scallops for sweetness and elegance, and uses more cream than the standard version. The sauce is enriched with a little white wine.

The mashed potato top is piped rather than spooned for a more dramatic presentation. And the whole thing is finished with a generous scattering of Parmesan that browns under the grill to a golden, slightly bubbling top.

It is, unambiguously, the finest fish pie I have ever eaten. The kind that makes everyone at the table go quiet for a moment.

What Makes This Version Luxury

Three types of fish and seafood. White fish for delicate flakiness, smoked haddock for depth and smokiness, prawns for sweetness — this is the combination in the standard fish pie. Add smoked salmon for silky richness and scallops for an elegance that makes this feel like a restaurant dish.

White wine in the sauce. A splash of white wine added after the roux and reduced briefly before the stock goes in gives the sauce a brightness and complexity that makes it noticeably more interesting.

Piped mashed potato top. A piped top takes five minutes more than a spooned one but looks genuinely spectacular — and it gives more surface area for the Parmesan to brown, which means more of that golden, slightly crispy top in every spoonful.

Ingredients for Mary Berry Luxury Fish Pie

For the Fish Filling

• 300g skinless cod or haddock fillet, in large chunks
• 200g skinless smoked haddock fillet, in large chunks
• 150g large raw king prawns, peeled
• 150g raw scallops, halved if large
• 100g smoked salmon, torn into pieces
• 600ml whole milk
• 1 bay leaf, 6 black peppercorns, a slice of lemon

For the Luxury Cream Sauce

• 60g unsalted butter
• 60g plain flour
• The strained poaching milk (approximately 550ml)
• 100ml dry white wine
• 150ml double cream
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• 2 tbsp fresh dill, chopped
• 2 tbsp fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped
• Juice of ½ lemon
• Salt and freshly ground white pepper

For the Mashed Potato Top

• 1.2kg floury potatoes (Maris Piper), peeled and roughly chopped
• 100g unsalted butter
• 150ml double cream or whole milk, warmed
• 50g Parmesan, finely grated — for the top
• Salt and white pepper

How to Make Mary Berry Luxury Fish Pie

Step 1 — Poach the White Fish and Smoked Haddock

Place the white fish and smoked haddock in a wide, shallow pan. Pour over the milk. Add the bay leaf, peppercorns, and lemon slice. Bring to a very gentle simmer and poach for five to six minutes until just beginning to flake. Lift out carefully. Strain and reserve all the poaching milk.

The smoked salmon, prawns, and scallops do not need poaching — they will cook in the oven.

Step 2 — Make the Perfect Mashed Potato

Boil the potatoes in well-salted water until completely tender. Drain thoroughly. Return to the pan over a low heat for two minutes, shaking, to drive off all moisture. Pass through a ricer or mash until completely smooth. Beat in the butter and warm cream until silky and smooth. Season very generously. The mash needs to be slightly stiffer than you would eat it at the table — it needs to hold its shape when piped. If it seems too loose, add less cream.

Step 3 — Make the Luxury Cream Sauce

Melt the butter in a large saucepan over a medium heat. Add the flour and stir for two minutes. Add the white wine and let it bubble for one to two minutes, stirring constantly. Add the warm poaching milk gradually, whisking continuously until smooth. Add the cream and mustard. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook for five minutes until the sauce is thick and glossy and coats the back of a spoon well. Add the dill, parsley, and lemon juice. Season carefully with salt and white pepper.

Step 4 — Combine the Filling

Preheat your oven to 200°C / 180°C fan / Gas 6.

Gently fold the poached white fish, smoked haddock, raw prawns, raw scallops, and torn smoked salmon into the warm sauce. Be extremely gentle — you want distinct pieces of fish and seafood, not broken-down paste. Pour into a large, deep ovenproof dish approximately 30x20cm.

Leave to cool for ten minutes before piping the potato.

Step 5 — Pipe the Potato Top

Transfer the mashed potato to a large piping bag fitted with a large star nozzle. Pipe generous rosettes or swirls over the entire surface of the fish filling, covering it completely from edge to edge. The piped pattern gives a significantly more dramatic and elegant appearance than a spooned top.

Scatter the Parmesan generously over the piped potato.

Step 6 — Bake

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes until the potato is golden at the peaks, the Parmesan is bubbling, and the sauce is visibly bubbling at the edges of the dish. For an extra golden top, place under a hot grill for three to four minutes after baking — watch it constantly.

Leave to rest five minutes before serving.

My Top Tips For Mary Berry Luxury Fish Pie

Do not poach the scallops and smoked salmon. The scallops and smoked salmon are delicate enough that they cook perfectly in the sauce during the 25 to 30 minutes of oven time. Pre-poaching them makes them tough and dry. Add them raw to the sauce.

Make the mash slightly stiffer for piping. A mash that is perfect for eating at the table will collapse when piped — it needs to be slightly firmer to hold the piped shapes during baking. Less cream, not more.

Cool the filling slightly before piping the potato. If the filling is boiling hot when the potato goes on, it can melt the mash from underneath and the piped pattern loses its definition. Ten minutes of cooling is enough.

White wine in the sauce is what makes this luxury. The tablespoon of white wine added after the roux — reduced briefly before the poaching milk goes in — gives the sauce a brightness and complexity that the standard fish pie sauce does not have. It is a small addition that makes a real difference.

Serve with nothing alongside. This pie is complete. A bowl of peas if you must, but honestly it needs nothing.

How to Store Mary Berry Luxury Fish Pie

In the fridge: Store covered for up to 2 days. Reheat covered with foil in a 180°C oven for 25 minutes until piping hot throughout.

In the freezer: Freeze before baking for up to 2 months. Cover tightly. Defrost overnight in the fridge. Bake as directed adding 15 minutes to the baking time.

Mary Berry Luxury Fish Pie Recipe

Mary Berry's luxury fish pie is the ultimate version — smoked salmon, scallops, and prawns in a rich cream sauce under a golden mash.

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Prep Time 40 minutes mins

Cook Time 30 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr 10 minutes mins

Servings: 8 Portions

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: British

Calories: 590

Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients

  

• Fish Filling:
• 300 g skinless cod or haddock in large chunks
• 200 g skinless smoked haddock in large chunks
• 150 g large raw king prawns
• 150 g raw scallops halved if large
• 100 g smoked salmon torn
• 600 ml whole milk 1 bay leaf, 6 peppercorns, slice of lemon
• Luxury Cream Sauce:
• 60 g butter 60g flour, strained poaching milk, 100ml white wine
• 150 ml double cream 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• 2 tbsp each fresh dill and parsley juice of ½ lemon
• Salt and white pepper
• Mashed Potato Top:
• 1.2 kg Maris Piper potatoes peeled and chopped
• 100 g butter 150ml warm double cream or milk
• 50 g Parmesan grated
• Salt and white pepper

CHECK THIS RECIPE  Mary Berry Coq au Vin Recipe

Method

 

1. Poach white fish and smoked haddock in milk with bay leaf, peppercorns, and lemon — 5–6 minutes. Lift out. Strain and reserve milk.
2. Boil potatoes — drain, dry, rice or mash, beat in butter and cream until smooth. Season. Keep slightly stiffer than usual.
3. Melt butter — add flour, stir 2 minutes. Add wine — bubble 1–2 minutes. Add warm poaching milk gradually, whisking. Add cream and mustard. Simmer 5 minutes. Add herbs, lemon juice, seasoning.
4. Preheat oven to 200°C / 180°C fan / Gas 6. Fold all fish and seafood very gently into sauce. Pour into dish. Cool 10 minutes.
5. Pipe mashed potato in rosettes over the entire surface. Scatter Parmesan.
6. Bake 25–30 minutes until golden and bubbling. Optional: grill for 3–4 minutes for an extra golden top. Rest 5 minutes.

Notes

Do not pre-poach scallops or smoked salmon — they cook perfectly in the oven.

Make mash slightly stiffer than usual — it needs to hold its shape when piped.

Cool filling 10 minutes before piping potato — hot filling collapses the piped pattern.

White wine in the sauce adds brightness and complexity — do not skip it.

Freeze assembled before baking for up to 2 months.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I leave out the scallops?

Yes — increase the prawns or white fish by the same weight. The pie is still wonderful without them but the scallops add a specific elegance that is worth the slight extra expense for a special occasion.

Can I use frozen seafood?

Defrost it completely and pat very dry before adding — excess water in frozen seafood can make the sauce watery. Fresh gives the best result for a luxury dish.

Can I use sweet potato for the top?

Yes — mashed sweet potato gives a beautifully coloured, slightly sweeter top. Use exactly the same method and quantity.

Why is my sauce thin?

Either the poaching milk was not concentrated enough, the roux ratio was off, or the sauce was not simmered long enough. The sauce should coat the back of a spoon heavily before the fish goes in — if it seems thin, simmer for another five minutes to reduce.