Dairy-Free Fish Pie

Here's my version of British fish pie--I used a Jamie Oliver recipe for inspiration and then morphed it to suit our needs.  It's great comfort food for these brisk autumn days!

*Peel and dice 1-2 regular potatoes and 1-2 sweet potatoes (I use a total of three potatoes) and place them in a pot set to boil. Boil them! 

While they are boiling, grate a carrot and place it in the bottom of a greased 8x8"-ish casserole dish.  Then stack a good layer of spinach on top. 

Use whatever fish you want as the next layer--I like to use one tilapia fillet per person, plus some salmon.  Cut the fish into small pieces and layer it on top of the spinach, then juice one lemon and pour juice on top of the diced fish. 

I create a bechamel sauce for some richness because we can't do cheese here.  To do that I melt 5 tablespoons of dairy-free butter and then whisk in 5 tablespoons of rice flour, then slowly whisk in 1-2 cups of rice milk.  I stir and cook until it is thick and smooth, and I always add some 'crazy salt' (a salt-pepper-spices combo that my family always has on hand). 

Pour the bechamel over the fish layer. 

Drain the potatoes, then mash them well, and spread them over the bechamel layer.

Bake in a 400 degree oven for 40 minutes.  We like to serve with steamed broccoli or roasted brussels sprouts--some kind of green wintry cruciferous vegetable!

It sounds like a lot of work, but it's really pretty easy, and worth it because both of my children polish off second-servings with gusto!  See also: omega-3s......