Artist’s Palate: Mike Nelson’s fish finger pie
![Mike Nelson’s fish finger pie](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/qaALvF4WQ5MdPTbqXLbnci-415-80.jpg)
Mike Nelson, whose immersive, labyrinthine installations have seen him twice nominated for the Turner Prize, and who, in 2011, represented Britain at the Venice Biennale, arranged to do some dog-sitting in a cramped South London flat in the summer of 1990. On his first day in residence he went out and bought a big bag of frozen fish fingers and frozen peas. On his return to the flat he discovered its refrigerator had no freezer compartment. And so was born the fish finger pie – basically a fish pie with added orange breadcrumbs. ‘This dish was the result of necessity but proved strangely palatable. I remember clearly how to make it – almost like a savoury trifle, layering the fish fingers in a white sauce, with the peas to add more colour and structure to this colossus of dishes, and with it finally topped with mashed potato.’ A dish both crazy and comforting.
Ingredients
fish fingers
flour
butter milk
potatoes, peeled
tomatoes
frozen peas
salt and pepper
Method
All the above any quantity, any type, depending on scale and budget. Cook fish fingers as directed on the packet - I champion the oven method. Put the potatoes in a pan, cover with cold water and bring to the boil. Prepare a roux - I never measure but estimate by eye - and make a white sauce. At this point various other paths can be taken, such as the addition of mustard powder to the roux, or parsley or basil to the sauce. Boil the frozen peas and add to the white sauce. Grease a large ovenproof dish, and add the cooked fish fingers, pouring over the white sauce as the layers build up. Boiled eggs could also be added, sliced like a layer of mortar to the brick-like fish fingers. Having removed the potatoes from the heat, strain and mash, adding butter and milk to taste and budget. Add salt and pepper accordingly. Decorate with slices of tomatoes and puncture the lid of a milk container and sprinkle a bit of milk on top. (Alternatively, use a brush. This may suggest, however, that your culinary skills exceed this recipe.) Put in a hot oven for 20-30 mins until this has been achieved.
INFORMATION
Interiors: Pei-Ru Keh
Wallpaper* Newsletter + Free Download
For a free digital copy of August Wallpaper*, celebrating Creative America, sign up today to receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories
-
Phaidon’s new Graphic Classics is a lavish greatest hits of graphic design
Graphic Classics is a compendium of seven centuries of visual culture, from the everyday and ephemeral to visionary works that reshaped our world
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
Birley Chocolate hits the sweet ’n’ chic spot in London’s Chelsea
The new Birley Chocolate shop, a sibling to Birley Bakery, is a confection of colour as delicious as its finely crafted goods
By Melina Keays Published
-
Feel at home at Auberge, Château La Coste's new inn for culture lovers
Auberge La Coste sits at the heart of the art-filled estate, minutes away from the joyful town of Aix-en-Provence
By Harriet Thorpe Published
-
Artist’s Palate: Cerith Wyn Evans’ recipe for Laverbread
Deep-dive into Cerith Wyn Evans’ gleaming, gelatinous recipe for Laverbread, as seen in this month’s Artist’s Palate feature, a Wallpaper* homage to our favourite contemporary art
By Harriet Lloyd-Smith Last updated
-
Helen Pashgian’s recipe for summer corn
Try Light and Space artist Helen Pashgian’s characteristically precise recipe for ‘summer corn’, as seen in this month’s Artist’s Palate feature, a Wallpaper* homage to our favourite contemporary art
By Harriet Lloyd-Smith Last updated
-
Artist’s Palate: Dolce & Gabbana’s pasta alla Norma
‘We like the simplest recipes of the Sicilian tradition,’ say designers Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana of their choice of pasta alla Norma for this month’s Artist’s Palate. Here, the recipe to make the definitively Italian dish yourself
By TF Chan Last updated
-
Artist’s Palate: Cooking Sections’ ‘Back to Earth’ tomatoes on toast
Enjoy Cooking Sections’ tomatoes on toast (pictured with a Seaweed Seeper), which is served at The Magazine alongside chickpea tabbouleh, and rhurbarb and quinoa cake. As seen in this month’s Artist’s Palate feature, a Wallpaper* homage to our favourite contemporary art
By TF Chan Last updated
-
Artist’s Palate: Dominique Gonzalez-Foerster’s recipe for omelette aux frites
Travel to a new dimension with Dominique Gonzalez-Foerster’s recipe for omelette aux frites. As seen in this month’s Artist’s Palate feature, a Wallpaper* homage to our favourite contemporary art
By Harriet Lloyd Smith Last updated
-
Artist’s Palate: Shilpa Gupta’s recipe for methi thepla
‘This simple homemade bread is my childhood favourite comfort food,’ says Mumbai-based artist Shilpa Gupta of her methi thepla recipe for this month’s Artist’s Palate feature, a Wallpaper* homage to our favourite contemporary art
By Harriet Lloyd-Smith Last updated
-
Bosco Sodi’s recipe for Brussels sprouts
Gather round for Bosco Sodi’s simple yet imposing recipe for Brussels sprouts.
By TF Chan Published
-
Mickalene Thomas’ recipe for duck with chimichurri
Try Mickalene Thomas’ take on a much-cherished recipe for duck with chimichurri. As featured in our monthly Artist’s Palate series, a Wallpaper* homage to our favourite contemporary art
By Pei-Ru Keh Last updated