Seafood Pie

Two annual "traditions", for lack of a better word, brought me to making a seafood pie. First of all, every year I take advantage of my friends R & T's tax software to complete my taxes. Secondly, I often give up something for Lent often meat. So this year, when I asked if I could drop by to prepare my taxes, I offered to bring over a meat-less dinner. Now, for any Catholics out there, giving up meat usually excludes seafood. So seafood pie it was!

I offered my friends two choices: mashed potato topping (like a shepherd's pie) or puff pastry (like a pot pie). R went for the mashed potatoes. As he ate the seafood pie, R admitted that he was doubtful of the seafood pie idea but was pleasantly surprised. I was too!



Seafood Pie - Serves 4
Adapted from Jamie Oliver's Fish Pie & Restaurant Makeover's Seafood Pot Pie.
I first heard of fish pie when I watched one of Jamie Oliver's shows. In his recipe, I didn't like the idea of adding the fish raw. So I followed the seafood pot pie recipe, and pre-cooked my fish and seafood.

For the seafood filling
* 3-4 cups of seafood of your choice (I had 1 salmon fillet, 1 tilapia fillet, ½ lb scallops, 1 lb shrimps) - enough to cover the bottom of a 9" x 9" baking dish
* olive oil
* salt and pepper

Peel the shrimps and reserve the shells if you're going to make a seafood broth.
Cut the scallops and fish into 2" pieces.
Place in a baking dish and drizzle with oil.
Season with salt and pepper.
Bake at 375F for 5-7 minutes or until just cooked.


Making seafood stock and seafood to be roasted (isn't it colourful?).

For the pie filling
You could use any vegetables but I like adding the green colour of the leeks and peas against the seafood.

* 1-½ cup seafood broth, or any other type
* ½ cup milk (I use skim milk with good results!)
* 3 tbsp butter
* 1 leek, sliced thinly
* 3 tbsp flour
* salt, to taste
* 1 tsp dry parsley
* 1 cup frozen peas
* roasted seafood

(If you'd like to make a broth for the sauce, just cook the shrimp shells, fish bones and skin with one carrot and 1 stalk of celery for 30 min.)

In a little pot, heat up the broth and milk.

Cook the leek in the butter, in a separate large pot, until they have softened.

Add 2 tbsp of butter until melted.

Add the flour and cook for 1-2 minutes.

Ladle the hot milk mixture while whisking.

Season the mixture with salt (1 tsp), pepper and some parsley.

Cook until the mixture has thickened.

Add the peas and roasted seafood.
Put your filling into a 9" x 9" baking dish.


Leeks and peas; mashed potato with cheddar.

For the mashed potato
Again, I don't have exact quantities, I just eyed it and tried to aim for a consistency I liked.

* 4-5 good sized potatoes (it should cover the meat and vegetables)
* 1-2 tbsp butter
* 1-2 tbsp olive oil
* 1/3 cup cheddar cheese, optional
* salt and pepper
* milk

Cook potatoes and peel them.
While hot, mash the potatoes.
Add butter.
Add milk if the mixture is too thick.
Add the olive oil, salt and pepper.
Adjust the seasoning and consistency to your taste.
Mix in the cheddar cheese.
Cover the filling with the potato mixture and spread evenly, starting with the edges and working into the middle.
Go through the surface of the mashed potato with a fork, creating grooves.
Brush the grooves with melted butter, so it browns nicely.
Bake in the oven for 30 min at 350F. (At this point, all the ingredients are cooked, so you're just heating the pie up.)
Broil on high for 5 minutes if you want it nicely browned. (Use the time because it can burn quickly or use the low setting instead!)
Tada!


My favourite seafood: scallops of course!