Cod Pie II is a traditional British recipe, based on Mrs Beeton's recipe of 1861, for a classic pie of cod cooked in white stock with a cream-based oyster sauce baked in a pastry shell. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic British version of: Cod Pie II.
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This is a traditional British recipe redacted from the redoubtable Mrs Beeton's 1861 volume Mrs Beeton's Book of Household Management, the classic Victorian cookbook.
Original Recipe
236. INGREDIENTS.—2 slices of cod; pepper and salt to taste; 1/2 a teaspoonful of grated nutmeg, 1 large blade of pounded mace, 2 oz. of butter, 1/2 pint of stock No. 107, a paste crust (see Pastry). For sauce, 1 tablespoonful of stock, 1/4 pint of cream or milk, thickening of flour or butter; lemon-peel chopped very fine to taste; 12 oysters.
Mode.—Lay the cod in salt for 4 hours, then wash it and place it in a dish; season, and add the butter and stock; cover with the crust, and bake for 1 hour, or rather more. Now make the sauce, by mixing the ingredients named above; give it one boil, and pour it into the pie by a hole made at the top of the crust, which can easily be covered by a small piece of pastry cut and baked in any fanciful shape—such as a leaf, or otherwise.
Time.—1-1/2 hour. Average cost, with fresh fish, 2s. 6d.
Seasonable from November to March.
Sufficient for 6 persons.
Note.—The remains of cold fish may be used for this pie.
Modern Redaction
Ingredients:
2 fillets of cod
salt and freshly-ground black pepper, to taste
1/2 tsp freshly-grated nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground mace
60g butter
300ml white stock
300g shortcrust pastry
sea salt, to taste
For the Sauce:
1 tbsp white stock
150ml cream or milk
1 tbsp plain flour mixed to a smooth paste with 1 tbsp butter
2 tbsp pared lemon zest, finely chopped
12 oysters
Method:
Scatter some salt on a plate, lay the fish on top then scatter salt over the fish. Set aside for 4 hours then wash clean and lay the fish in a deep pie dish. Season with salt, black pepper, nutmeg and mace then add the butter and stock. Roll out the pastry and use to cover the dish. Transfer to an oven pre-heated to 180°C and bake for about 65 minutes, or until the fish is cooked and the pastry is pale golden.
Now prepare the sauce. Combine all the sauce ingredients in a pan, bring to a boil then take off the heat. Remove the pie from the oven, cut a hole in the top and pour in the sauce. Cover the hole with a pastry leaf then return to the oven and cook for a further 10 minutes. Serve hot.
