These fish pies are great if you are on a low carb diet like we are at the moment. There are lots of different versions online including a weight watchers version but most of them have potatoes in them or potato mash as the topping.
My version combines the best of both worlds and I think it is as tasty as you can get without the potatoes but keeps the cream and milk to make a lovely roux and resulting sauce.
Preparation time: 30 minutes cooking time: 20 minute
Ingredients:
- 400g monkfish or other firm white fish chopped into chunks
- 6 green prawns peeled and chopped into 3 or 4 pieces each
- 100g hot smoked salmon or trout or smoked haddock
- 200ml of milk
- 2 tablespoons white wine
- 50ml cream
- 2 bay leaves
- 3 stalks of dill with friends removed and finely chopped
- 2 stalks of parsley, leaves removed and finely chopped
- 1/4 cup of finely sliced leek
- 15g butter
- 2 tablespoons of flour
- 1 sheet of bought puff pastry
- Beaten egg to brush pastry
- Salt and black pepper
- 1/4 tsp Dijon mustard400g blue eye cod or other firm white fish
Method:
Remove a sheet of puff pastry from the freezer to defrost.
Place the monkfish and prawns (not the hot smoked fish) in a small pot and cover with milk, add bay leaves and bring to a light rolling boil, then reduce heat and allow fish and prawns to poach in milk for 2 minutes. Remove fish and prawns from the milk with a slotted spoon and place into a seperate bowl.
Strain the milk through a sieve and reserve.
In a seperate non-stick pan, melt the butter and add leek and cook slowly until well softened.
Add the flour gradually and stir constantly to form a roux, and cook for a minute until flour is “cooked out”.
Add milk and wine to the roux gradually and whisk to form a smooth sauce.
Add mustard, salt and pepper to taste and mix through sauce.
Then add the cream and mix through.
Add fish, prawns and hot smoked salmon and allow the mixture to cool.
Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees celcius
Put cooled fish mixture, focus on getting as much of the fish and prawns rather than all the sauce, into 3 small ramekins and then cover the ramekins with round of puff pastry cut to slightly larger rounds than the tops of the ramekins. (You might end up with a bit extra sauce leftover) Decorate with some of the leftover pastry and make a small hole in the middle of each to allow steam to escape.
Brush the puff pastry with the beaten egg and place in the oven on a foil lined baking tray for 15-20 minutes until pastry is golden and puffed.
Allow to cool for a few minutes before serving with a green salad on the side.
