Fish and fennel pie with herb crumbs

1. For the sweet potato pie crust, mash the sweet potato well in a saucepan, then stir over heat until piping hot. Scrape into a bowl, let it cool slightly, then beat in the salt and egg until smooth. While the mixture is still hot, add the rice flour and mix well with a spatula at first, then your hands, until it forms a soft dough. It's fine to add more flour if it's a little too soft. Then wrap the dough well and leave in the fridge while you make the filling.

2. For the filling, put the fennel, onion, garlic and olive oil in a saucepan with 100 millilitres of water and a teaspoon of salt. Bring to the boil then stick the lid on and cook for about 10 minutes, until the fennel and onion begin to wilt in the steam. Then remove the lid and cook for another five to 10 minutes until the water has evaporated and the vegetables are sizzling.

3. Sprinkle on the rice flour, stir well, then add the almond milk and stir until boiling and thick. Remove from the heat and stir in the dill. De-seed and finely chop the chilli and stir this through. Cover and keep in the fridge while you make the breadcrumbs.

4. To make the breadcrumbs, grind the bread and garlic to coarse breadcrumbs in a food processor, then add the parsley and grind again until everything turns a brilliant, rich green colour. Add the salt, olive oil and pepper to taste then pulse the machine briefly to mix the oil through. The crumbs are now ready to use, or can be stored in a bag in the freezer.

5. To finish, chop the fish into two-centimetre pieces and stir through the filling. Roll the dough out with a little rice flour and use it to line one large, oiled, deep pie tin, or small muffin pockets. Pile in the fish filling, sprinkle over the crumbs and bake at 190C or 170C fan-forced for about 40 minutes until piping hot throughout.