These feel like an authentic English or Irish dish to me. Or maybe it’s a New England treat. I don’t know where fish pies were born, but I do know they’re gorgeous and delicious. I try to avoid using too much butter whenever possible, but from the time I was a kid, I knew that there was one indisputable culinary fact_ if it had a crust, it had to be delicious!
Having pre-made puff pastry in the freezer is a lifesaver for whenever you are making anything with a crust, so I always have some on hand. The golden puff pastry in this dish encloses a warm, creamy mixture of fish and sweet vegetables. It’s so creamy in fact that you would think it’s made with heavy cream, but in fact it’s just an easy mixture of milk and a roux. Yes, moms and dads, you get to be culinary geniuses this week and make a roux, which is SO easy to do! I guarantee this will be a hit for even those little ones that turn their noses up at vegetables. Give it a try.
Fish Pies
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 Cups milk (I prefer whole milk for this recipe)
- 1 Cup broccoli florets, fresh or frozen
- 1 large carrot, peeled and diced
- 1 Ear of Corn or 1/2 Cup Frozen
- 2 Sole Fillets, fresh or frozen (or 1/2 Lb halibut, haddock or cod)
- 2 Tbsp butter
- 2 Tbsp Flour plus extra for sprinkling
- 1/2 Box Puff Pastry, 1 sheet (I like Dufours or Pepperidge Farms), defrosted
- 1 Egg, whisked with 1 tsp water (this is known as an egg wash for the crust)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees
- Bring the milk to a boil in a large saucepan.
- Add the broccoli and carrots and reduce the heat to a simmer. Cover and cook for 3 minutes.
- Add the corn and fish and continue to cook for 4 more minutes or until vegetables are fork tender.
- Remove the vegetables to a separate bowl. Break the fish into pieces and chop the broccoli into bite size pieces if needed.
- Melt the butter in a saucepan over low heat. When it’s melted add the flour and whisk making a roux.
- Add the milk a little at a time until mixture is a thick saucy consistency.
- Add the sauce to the fish and vegetables and combine.
- Pour the mixture into individual ramekins.
- Sprinkle work surface with a bit of flour and roll out puff pastry to remove lines (only if necessary).
- Cut out 4 individual circles, using a knife, just larger then the top of each ramekin.
- Divide the fish mixture between the 4 ramekins and cover with puff pastry sheet.
- Brush each puff pastry ramekin with egg wash.
- Bake on a cookie sheet for 20 minutes or until pastry is golden.
- Serve.
This recipe seemed daunting at first but I needed a new fish recipe, so I decided to go for it. I was a little confused half-way through the directions, but at Step 5, I used a sieve and large jug to separate the vegetables and fish mixture from the milk; I would then have a jug of milk for Step 7. Then, I returned the veg-fish mixture back into the (large) saucepan, and used another (medium-sized) saucepan for the roux at Step 6. I would definitely season to taste at Step 4.
Anyway, my kitchen was a bit of a mess but my family loved the fish pie (I used four 6-oz ramekins)! Next time, I’ll try making the fish pie in a baking dish and top it off with mashed potato. Thanks for another great recipe!
Salt and pepper?