Salmon & Prawn Filo Pie

This salmon and prawn fish pie with a difference is equally perfect for a family dinner or as a beautiful center piece to impress when entertaining. The crisp filo pastry topping makes a change from the more traditional mashed potato. It's worth giving it a try, I'm sure it will become a firm favourite; as it is with us.

Ingredients: serves 6

  • 1 kg of skinned farmed organic Scottish salmon fillet, cut across the fillet into 6 pieces.

  • 18-24 large fresh wild shell-on prawns (try and get 20/30 count). Reserving the heads

    and shells for the stock, peel and deveined the prawns then rinse in clean cold water.

    Dry and place into the fridge for later.

  • 400-500g (about 2 packets) filo pastry (I find the fresh filo found in the chiller at Tesco

    to be the best)

  • 200g melted clarified butter (melt 250g unsalted butter, allow to stand for 10 minutes and separate the golden butter fat from the milky residue. Disregard the residue).

For the Sauce: 

  • 2 x 500ml fresh fish stock (available from the chiller cabinet in Waitrose)

  • 1-2 dessertspoon rapeseed oil

  • 150ml dry white wine

  • 100g unsalted butter

  • 100g flour

  • 15g dill, chopped, (plus optional extra sprigs to garnish)

  • Zest from 2 lemons

  • Squeeze of lemon juice to taste

  • 2 tablespoons double cream

  • Sea salt

  • White pepper

You will require a suitable oven-proof dish with a base size of approximately 20 cm x 30 cm.

 

Method:

1. You can make the sauce to stage 4 and refrigerate until required. Put the rapeseed oil into a medium sized heavy based sauce pan. Over a medium heat add the reserved prawn heads and shells and fry until pink and toasted. Add the wine and reduce by half then add stock and over a low heat simmer for 20 minutes squashing the shells to release flavour.

2. When the prawn stock is cooked, strain through a fine strainer into a measuring jug. You will need 1 litre. If you are short make up with water.

3. Melt the butter in a heavy pan over a low heat. Now add the flour and stir to combine, then cook for a couple of minutes without colouring. Turn up the heat and stirring all the time, gradually add the stock until you have a smooth velvety sauce. Allow to simmer slowly for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in the double cream and cook for a further two minutes. Stir in the dill and lemon zest. Taste adding salt and white pepper to taste. Add a little lemon juice to balance the flavour and taste. Allow the sauce to cool. If you are going to cook the pie later, make sure the sauce is fridge cold before constructing the pie.

4. To construct the pie. *It is very important that if you are going to construct the pie several hours in advance of cooking, you must make sure that the fish and the sauce are both at fridge temperature before construction begins.

5. To construct the pie. *It is very important that if you are going to construct the pie several hours in advance of cooking, you must make sure that the fish and the sauce are both at fridge temperature before construction begins.

6. To construct the pie. *It is very important that if you are going to construct the pie several hours in advance of cooking, you must make sure that the fish and the sauce are both at fridge temperature before construction begins.

7. To stop the pastry from drying out, you will need to work quite quickly at this stage. Unwrap the filo pastry and lay out unrolled on the bench, cutting the pile in two. Using the pastry brush paint the first two pieces of filo liberally with the butter. Then one half at a time, pick up and lightly scrunch up, like you would a piece of paper, to about the size of a golf ball. Start in one corner and place onto the filling. Take the next half and repeat by placing tight against the first piece of pastry. Continue the process until the top is completely covered. You should have plenty of pastry to do this, in fact you may have some left over. *You can now either cover and place into the fridge for up to eight hours remembering to remove from the fridge 20 minutes before cooking.

8. Preheat the oven (fan) 180 deg C/gas 5. To make it easier to remove from the oven when cooked, place the pie on to a baking tray. Place into the centre of the oven for 40-45 minutes until the top is crisp and golden and the centre core temperature has reached 70 deg C. When the pie is cooked, remove from the oven and allow to stand for 5 minutes before serving.

To Serve: Serve the pie with green beans or purple sprouting or tender stem broccoli or when in season fresh English asparagus (April-June).