Fish Pie and Handy Frozen Potato Discs

I love a good old fashioned fish pie. There are no frills with this recipe but it is delicious. What makes this a little different is instead of spreading mashed potato on top I used frozen discs of the mash. There was a good deal of discussion on Vi's pantry, a foodie forum I frequent, about these. Delia Smith used a supermarket bought version in her How to Cheat Book. I did try them but I dislike the mass produced mashed potato products as they have a texture like wallpaper paste and taste pretty much the same. Not that I am in the habit of eating wallpaper paste you understand. I prefer to make my own fast food. In this country I am sure most households have a pile of old potatoes just past their best and I am the same. I hate waste so I boiled up the ones I had, mashed them with butter and left them to get cold. I chopped them up a bit and turned them out onto the work top and kneaded
them a little so they became nice
and soft and easy to handle. I rolled them out to about 1/2 a
centimetre thick and then cut them out with a pastry cutter.
I then placed them on baking trays lined with greaseproof paper. Popped them in the freezer for a couple of hours and once frozen peeled them off and popped them in a bag. Instant pie topping. I love mashed potato but for some reason I have always disliked it as a pie topping. I think it has something to do with the sauce underneath soaking into the topping. Using the frozen potato discs completely stops this happening so that is an added bonus. Either way it is a good way to use up spare mashed potatoes

There is not really a recipe for the fish pie so feel free to add what you like.

500gms/1lb Smoked Cod Loin
500gms/1lb Cod loin
500mls / 1 pint milk
4 tablespoons flour
100gms/4oz mature cheddar cheese grated
2 hard-boiled eggs sliced thinly
1 teaspoon old bay seasoning(optional)
Chopped parsley
Black pepper.
Mashed potatoes or potato discs as above.

Cut each piece of fish in half and place in a large pan with the milk.
Simmer until just cooked
Place each piece of fish in a dish one on top of the other if needs be.
Melt the butter in another pan and stir in the flour.
Allow to cook for a few minutes.
Stir in the milk the fish was cooked in little by little stirring well after each addition.
Keep stirring over a low heat until the sauce has thickened.
Remove from the heat stir in the grated cheese, leaving a little for sprinkling at the end, black pepper chopped parsley and old bay seasoning if required.
Pour 2/3 of the sauce over the fish breaking it up with a fork as you do so.
Place the sliced hard-boiled egg on top.
Add the rest of the sauce.
Place the potato discs or mashed potatoes on top.
Sprinkle with the remaining cheese
Bake at 180.C/350.F/Gas4 until golden brown and bubbling.

I find it convenient to make this in the morning, let it get cold then assemble ready for the oven later. If you do this a little piece of cling film on the surface of the sauce prevents a skin forming