Buy British - Cod, leek and blue cheese pies

For my Cod, Leek and Blue Cheese pies, it will be a good Stilton, I am 3 miles away from the village of Stilton, the cheese is not made there its still produced in the UK though,not too far away from me in Leicestershire.

Country Life celebrates the best of British with recipes from
chef and "Buy British" campaigner Marcus Wareing and his

Cod, leek and blue cheese pies

• Makes: 4

Ingredients

For the cod

• 400ml semi-skimmed or whole milk
• 100ml fish or chicken stock
• ¼ bunch thyme
• ½ bulb garlic, peeled and halved crossways
• 1 bay leaf
• 500g cod

For the rest

• 100g Country Life Unsalted butter
• ½tsp salt
• 2 leeks, white part only, sliced
• 100ml chicken stock
• 50g plain flour
• 125g your favourite blue cheese, crumbled
• ½ bunch flat-leaf parsley, leaves chopped
• 1 medium free-range egg yolk
• 4 puff pastry discs, 3mm thick, to overlap the rim of each pie dish by 1cm

Method

1. Place the milk, stock, thyme, garlic and bay leaf in a deep non-stick frying pan and warm gently; do not boil.
2. Season the cod, then add it to the liquid and allow to poach gently for 5-8 minutes, until it is just cooked through and flakes easily. Remove the fish and lay on paper towels. Strain the poaching liquid through a fine sieve and reserve.
3. Put 50g of the Country Life Unsalted butter in a deep frying pan over a moderate to high heat. Add the leeks, season well and cook for 3-5 minutes until lightly coloured. Add the chicken stock and cook the leeks for a further 5 minutes until almost cooked through, then set aside.
4. Melt the remaining Country Life Unsalted butter in a medium sized saucepan over a moderate heat. Whisk in the flour and cook for a couple of minutes. Add a little of the fish-poaching liquid and whisk well. Add the remaining liquid and continue to stir until the mixture has thickened and has lost the raw flour taste.
5. Divide the cod, leeks and blue cheese evenly between four individual pie dishes. Add the parsley to the white sauce, adjust the seasoning if necessary then spoon into the pie dishes.
6. Brush the top of the inside of each dish with a little egg yolk, then lay the pastry over the top, sealing it at the top edge and over the dish. Slice the excess pastry off. At this stage either put the pies in the fridge to bake later, or preheat the oven to 180˚C/350˚F/gas mark 4.
7. Before baking, brush the pastry lids with egg yolk and make two slits for the steam to escape.
8. Bake for 20-25 minutes until the pastry is golden. Allow to rest for a couple of minutes before serving.