Serves 4-6

The ingredients list may look long, but everything is easily found in supermarkets (including queen scallops) and the method is simplicity itself. This pie is perfect for a Christmas Eve supper.

2 large shallots or 1 onion, chopped
2 tbsp olive oil
40g butter
Leaves from 1 large sprig fresh thyme
4 tbsp Noilly Prat or dry vermouth
2 tsp Pernod, optional
1 sheet ready-rolled puff pastry, about 300g
4 level tbsp flour
250ml fish, chicken or vegetable stock (could be a bought tub or made from a stock cube if you??ve no fresh stock lurking in the fridge)
200ml milk
4 tbsp double cream
3 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
2 fresh salmon fillets, skinned
250g cod or haddock fillets, skinned
200g queen scallops
150g king prawns
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 egg yolk beaten with 1 tsp water
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 Heat the oven to 200C, Gas 6. Prepare a shallow ovenproof casserole or pie dish, about 2-litre capacity.
2 Saut?? the shallots or onion in the oil and butter with the thyme leaves for about 5 minutes until softened. Add the Noilly Prat or vermouth and Pernod, then cook until reduced right down.
3 Meanwhile, place the baking dish upside-down on the pastry sheet and cut round it, allowing a 1cm rim. Leftover trimmings could be cut into leaves or shapes, if you are so inclined. Set the pastry aside.
4 Next, stir in the flour and cook for a minute or so. Heat the stock in a small pan or a jug in the microwave. Gradually stir it into the pan with a wooden spoon until smooth and boil for about 5 minutes until reduced by a third, then mix in the milk and simmer again for 2 minutes. Season well, then add the cream and parsley.
5 Meanwhile, cut the salmon and cod or haddock into bite-sized chunks and scatter in the baking dish with the scallops and prawns. Sprinkle with the lemon juice and seasoning. Set the dish on a baking tray.
6 Pour over the sauce and mix in well with a fork. Then place the pastry on top of the filling - it will overhang a little. Brush the top with the egg-yolk glaze, make three slashes in the middle with the tip of a sharp knife and fix on any pastry leaves you may have cut. Put the pie immediately in the oven. Bake for 10 minutes, then turn the oven down to 180C, Gas 4, and bake for another 20 minutes, turning if it browns unevenly. Allow to stand for 10 minutes before cutting and serving. Creamy garlic-flavoured potato mash would be delicious with this and the tomato and watercress salad below.

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