Fish Pie - Gluten free, dairy free, soya free, wheat free, nut free, corn free

Apologies for only sporadic posting at present, life seems to well and truly have taken over! I've still been cooking daily, anyone catering for children with allergies knows only too well that there are not many short cuts. My christmas present this year was a slow cooker, which I must say has been hugely liberating. It means I can spend food preparation time whilst the children are (usually!) at school, and the meal cooks with little intervention from me. Once the children are home I can devote my time to them, rather than the evening meal.

My main aim this year (a resolution if you like!) is to continue to build on the growing independence the twins are gaining. This is quite a slow process - new readers can read my musings on why children with allergies lack a degree of independence here,  and to that effect I am aiming to broaden their meal repertoire, if not their safe food list!

Fish pie has long been a big favourite of my two oldest children, the twins each enjoy a few ingredients each - and both are hugely suspicious of sauces and combined meals. We've been slowly working on them tasting and eating a white sauce and after initial success as a warm "dip" I decided to attempt a fish pie.

My aim was not for either to eat a plateful, or even enjoy all of it - but to taste some, and pick out a few pieces they felt they could eat. This is an approach called a "bravery ladder", which I will write more about next week.

So, here it is - our fish pie. Obviously if your child is allergic to fish, this is a complete no-no!! The eggs are entirely optional though, so tolerating rice, potato and a few vegetables is all that is required on top of the fish.

White sauce ingredients

• 300ml rice milk
• 100ml rice cream (I use Isola)
• 1 bay leaf 
• 50g "Pure" Olive or Sunflower
• 50g plain flour - either corn flour or rice flour

Method

• Melt the margarine a little in the microwave
• Combine with the flour (I use a hand held whisk) and gradually add the cream. 
• Whisk/stir whilst adding the milk
• pop in the bay leaf and gradually cook in the microwave until thickened.

Fish Pie Method

• Peel and boil approx 4 -5 large potatoes
• Poached the fish in the microwave with a little rice milk and a sprinkling of pepper, then flake it. 
• I have an egg cooker and hard boiled three eggs, cooled peeled and chopped them.
• Quickly stir fry the spring onions whilst the fish and eggs are cooling a little
• Make the white sauce (above) and mix with at the fish, eggs, onions, sweetcorn and peas.
• Place at the bottom of a large dish
• Once cooked, mash the potatoes, add white pepper to taste and use "Pure" Olive or similar to mash
• Cover the fish mixture with mashed potato, starting with the edge first to avoid the contents getting pushed over the edge.

This will keep in the fridge once cooled until you wish to cook and serve. Alternatively cook in a moderately hot 180C oven (170C fan) for half an hour - or an hour if straight from the fridge.