Supper at Joe’s: Easy peasy fish pie pasta bake 

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Supper at Joe’s: Easy peasy fish pie pasta bake

By Joe Wicks

Published: | Updated:


SERVES 8

PREPARE: 5 minutes

COOK: 50-60 minutes

FREEZE ME 

500g penne pasta

1.2 litres whole milk

4 bay leaves

2 tbsp Dijon mustard

½ nutmeg, freshly grated

1 tsp garlic granules

200g frozen peas

2 tbsp cornflour mixed with 2 tbsp water

200g baby spinach

200g raw shelled prawns

25g chives, finely chopped

640g fish pie mix

salt and pepper

120g fresh breadcrumbs

200g parmesan, finely grated

  • Preheat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Find your largest heavy-based saucepan and add the pasta, milk, bay leaves, Dijon mustard, grated nutmeg and garlic granules to the pan. Set it over a low heat and heat the milk and pasta, stirring regularly, for 25-30 minutes, or until the pasta is cooked and the milk has thickened slightly with the starch released from the pasta. Remove the bay leaves.
  • Stir in the peas and cook for a further 2 minutes until defrosted, then stir in the cornflour mix and cook for another 4-5 minutes until the milk has thickened to a sauce-like consistency. Turn off the heat, add the spinach and stir until it has wilted. Add the prawns, chopped chives and fish pie mix to the sauce and stir to evenly distribute. Season with salt and pepper.
  • Spoon into a large baking dish (or divide the mix between smaller baking dishes so you can put some away in the freezer for another time).
  • Mix the breadcrumbs with the grated parmesan and top the fish pie evenly with the mixture. Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes until the fish and prawns are cooked through and the top of the pie has browned.

TIP If you want to freeze one of the pies, wrap the dish in clingfilm, or use a disposable large foil tray with a lid. Remember to thoroughly defrost the pasta bake before baking, taking it out of the freezer and transferring it to the fridge the night before you want to cook it.