Springtime florentine fish pie for the perpetual spinach glut

The perpetual spinach is one year old this week. Clue's in the name. I 'celebrate' with this light pie filled with peas, parsley, a cheesy Jersey Royal crust and LOTS of spinach.

The perpetual spinach forest

Perpetual doesn’t cover it.

The perpetual spinach in the garden is a year old this week. I planted a row of plug plants last May and have been slightly stressed about the volume of spinach ever since. At least a kilo a week. (Apart from Nov-Feb when it, and I, had a rest.) It can become quite oppressive.

There comes a point when even I run out of ideas for vegetables.

I’ve been writing about gluts for a decade now. And I do love spinach, perpetual or ‘true’. But this year alone I‘ve been through pasta sauces, dressing, soup and dip. Done stuffing. And pie (which you’ll find in From the Veg Patch). And gnudi. I’ve even featured it in this month’s column for Delicious magazine as part of my spring panzanella.

More spinach

But still it keeps coming.

It should really come with a warning. Oh, wait. Perpetual. Though, I would argue for something stronger. Never-ending. Ever-lasting. Un-remitting.

Anyway, I’m being needlessly dramatic because I love to revel in the abundance. It’s a nice problem to have, really. Secretly, I’m gleeful to have a glut of anything in May, the peak of the Hungry Gap. And I have friends for supper, eight of them, so that’s a bucketful of spinach eating right there.

I take a scythe to the spinach forest and bring an armful into the kitchen. The forest appears undiminished, but I have plenty here and it will form the base of this spinach-y fish pie.

Florentine fish pie

Yes, I did start serving up before I remembered I needed to photograph it

May is no time for stodgy mash and gluey sauce (but is any month?). This fish pie is all springtime lightness with a layer of spinach on the base, a topping of cheesy Jersey Royals and pops of fresh peas and parsley inside. The whole lot can be assembled a few hours in advance, but make sure all the components are fully cooled before assembling.

Serves 8

• 1kg Jersey Royal potatoes

• 750g perpetual (or ‘true’) spinach

• 500ml whole milk

• 2 bay leaves