Fish pie, also known as fisherman's pie, is a traditional British dish.
Origins
According to Cook's Illustrated, the dish was likely created to make use of fish scraps during Lent.[1]John Murrell's[la] 1615 A New Booke of Cookerie contained recipes for eel and carp pies that called for scraps.[1]Jessup Whitehead's[wd] 1889 The Steward’s Handbook and Guide to Party Catering instructs the cook to poach the fish, then drain it and cover it in cream before baking.[1]
In place of pastry enclosing the pie, a topping of mashed potatoes[1] (sometimes with cheese or vegetables such as onions and leeks added)[2] is used to cover the fish during baking. The dish is sometimes referred to as "fisherman's pie" because the mashed potato topping is similar to that used for shepherd's pie.[1]
Royal fish pie
Gifts of fish pie to the king were a common tradition for various occasions. In a Lenten tradition, the town of Yarmouth was required to bake 100 herrings into two dozen pies and send them to the king.[3][4] The prior of Llanthony, Gloucester, baked eels and carp into a pie as a gift to Henry VIII in 1530.[4] In 1752 one was sent to the Prince of Wales. The tradition was also recorded during the reign of Queen Victoria.[4]
