Stranger Foods

Sea-fisherman's pie

Serves 4 | Prep 20 mins | Cook 25 mins

If you don't have a day to prepare, just buy some all butter puff pastry from the supermarket.

Source: Bake It Yourself

Ingredients

Metric

Imperial

x0.5

For the puff pastry

225 g strong white bread flour, plus more to dust
½ tsp salt
225 g unsalted butter, chilled
1 tsp lemon juice
1 large egg, lightly beaten

For the filling

4 spring onions, chopped
olive oil
30 g unsalted butter
2 tbsp plain flour
250 ml whole milk
50 ml dry white wine
75 g Cheddar cheese, grated
1 tsp Dijon mustard
2 cloves garlic, crushed
25 g chives, chopped
75 g frozen peas
75 g frozen sweetcorn
300 g chopped mixed fish
100 g raw shelled prawns
sea salt and black pepper

Instructions

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°F

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To make the puff pastry, first mix the the bread flour and salt in a large bowl, then chop 25 g of the butter and rub into the flour with your fingers. Add the lemon juice and 140 m of cold water and mix with a knife until the mixture is brought together enough to handle. Tip out on to a floured work surface and knead until smooth and elastic (around ). Allow the dough to rest for .
Roll out on a floured surface to rectangle of 51 x 17 cm (or thereabouts). Roll out the remaining 200 g butter between sheets of cling film to a rectangle of 33 x 15 cm. You'll need to peel off and reapply the cling film regularly to stop it ripping. Working quickly now, peel the top layer of cling film off the butter and flip the butter on to the rolled out dough, covering two-thirds of the length of the dough and also leaving a clear rim around all the edges. Fold the unbuttered dough on to half of the butter and press the edges to seal the butter in. Fold this layer over the remaining butter and press down the edges all around to form a 17 cm square. Wrap in cling film and chill in the fridge for .
Take out of the fridge and roll back out to about 51 x 17 cm. Fold up in thirds as before, to make a square. Turn the square through 90 degrees and roll out to 51 x 17 cm again, then fold up as before. Wrap in cling film and chill for another .
Repeat the last step, so the pastry has been folded a total of 5 times. Chill for another .
Meanwhile, make the filling. Fry the spring onions in the olive oil in a large pan over a medium heat for . Set aside. Melt the butter in the same pan and stir in the plain flour to form a thick paste. Gradually add the milk, about 50 ml at a time, whisking well between each addition. (If you add it all at once, you'll have a lumpy sauce.) Whisk in the wine, then stir in the cheese, mustard and garlic. Allow to cook for a couple of minutes, remembering to make sauce the sauce doesn't dry on the sides of the pan. Add the spring onions, chopped chives, peas and sweetcorn and cook for another . Add the fish and prawns and cook for another , then season with salt and pepper and scrape the filling into a 23 x 18 cm rectangular deep sided pie dish. Leave to cool
Preheat the oven to 220°C/gas 9. Roll out the puff pastry on a floured work surface to a square roughly 30 cm and cut off enough 3 cm wide strips to lay around the rim of the dish. Use plenty of beaten egg to stick these strips around the edge, then brush their tops with more egg. Roll up the remaining pastry on to a rolling pin and lay on top of the pie dish, pressing the top layer of puff down on to the strips, then cut off the excess.
Gently use a sharp knife to cut small grooves along the side edges of the pastry to expose some of the puff layers. This allows the pastry to puff up more easily when baking.
Paint with beaten egg and bake in the oven for until golden brown. Serve piping hot with new potatoes and green beans.

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