(feeds a generous 6)

Pie Filling;
450g (1 lb.) Salmon fillet
450g (1 lb.) Undyed Smoked Haddock
900g (2 lbs) Mussels
90g (3 oz.) Butter
90g (3 oz.) Flour
600ml (1 pt.) Milk
600ml (1 pt.) Water

Souffle topping;
90g(3 oz.) Butter
90g (3oz.) Flour.
110g (4 oz.) Mature Cheddar
4 Eggs
450ml (¾ pt.) Milk

Pie Filling:
Tip the mussels into a sink and rinse off any sand.
Put them into a pan with a cup of water and put them on the heat, covered with a lid.
Keep these on the heat until all the shells are open.
Tip them into a large bowl and discard the shells and take off the beards (any pieces of weed or fibre which the mussels attach themselves to rocks)
Put the mussels to one side and strain and keep the liquid from the pan.

In a large flat pan cover the salmon and the haddock with the milk and water and bring up to a gentle boil.
Simmer for about 5 mts then take out of the liquid and put to cool on a board.
Once the fish are cool enough to handle remove all the skin and bones and break into large flakes.
Put the fish and the mussels into a large ovenproof dish (something like a roasting tin would work well)
Melt the butter in a pan a d then stir in the flour, add in the liquid from the mussels and then add sufficient of the liquid in which the fish were cooked to make a bechemal like sauce. Pour this over the fish in the dish and put somewhere cool to set.

Souffle Topping:

Melt the butter in a pan and stir in the flour and then the milk to make a thick sauce.
Grate and stir in the cheese.
Separate the eggs and whip the whites until light and thick (an electric beater makes this easier)
Beast the yolks into the cheese sauce and then fold in one tablespoon of the whipped whites to lighten the mixture.
Then fold in the remainder of the whites.
Spoon this mixture on top of the fish in the dish, smooth over the top and put into a moderately hot oven, Gas 5, 190C, 375F. for about 50 mts.

This dish is so hearty that it doesn’t really need potatoes and it goes well with a sweet vegetable like leeks which you have chopped and cooked slowly in butter or with crisp boiled broccoli.