I’m sure you’re all well aware that we love pies in my family. Whether it be a chicken, vegetable, fish or Quorn pie, we really know how to show it a lorra lorra love! Not all of the dishes I cook for my family always go down well, we have certain fuss pots in the family who can be difficult to please (I’m not mentioning ANY names but they know who they are, lol!). However this Creamy Salmon Leek and Pea Pie ALWAYS pleases even the fussiest fuss pot!

I use leeks in place of onions to give the dish its base flavour, if you can’t get hold of fresh or frozen leeks use a medium onion instead. Leeks are part of the onion family so are great for adding flavour to dishes without being too overpowering, I consider them to be a cross between onions and spring onions, when cooked they have a very subtle taste which goes really well with salmon.

The very first time I cooked this dish I actually used a whole bulb of fennel which had been sitting in my freezer for a while in place of the leek, although the fennel wasn’t very strong in taste it worked. I imagine using fresh fennel would compliment this dish, the subtle aniseed taste would go well with the creamy sauce and salmon if you wanted to give it a try.

I’ve not always been a huge fan of salmon other than in a Tenga Fish Curry using tomatoes (which was how my mum cooked this fish), it’s a taste I’ve slowly acquired over the years. In fact I really enjoy eating smoked salmon, especially in a bagel with cream cheese or with eggs for breakfast. This recipe would work well with any flaky fish; cod, haddock, hake and bream are all good alternatives to salmon.

If peas aren’t popular in your household you may swap it for a can of sweetcorn, runner beans or even potatoes. These are just some ideas for you to play around with, after all experimenting is half the fun of cooking. Let’s begin the kitchen experiments!

Serves 6

You will need: for Creamy Salmon Leek & Pea Pie

450g salmon
1 pack of shortcrust pastry (or you can make your own using the ingredients listed below)
1 pack of puff pastry
2.5 tbsp butter
2.5 tbsp of flour
salt to taste (I used about 1/2 tsp)
1 leek sliced
1/2 cup of celery
2 – 3 bay leaves
3 cloves
7 – 8 whole black peppercorns OR 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 pint milk (300ml)
1 vegetarian stock cube (or you may use chicken if you prefer)
1/2 pint of boiling water (300ml)
1 cup of peas
1 egg and splash of milk/water whisked (for egg wash)

For shortcrust pastry:
100g cold butter
200g plain flour
pinch of salt
water as needed

Method:

I used frozen celery, use either fresh or frozen.

I am using a vegetarian Oxo cube which is available from most major supermarkets to create the stock added to this dish. You may use a halal chicken stock cube if you prefer.

Before starting, preheat your oven to between gas mark 5 – 6.

If you are using ready rolled shortcrust pastry you may skip to the third post and begin to line your dish using this. The dish I am using measures 25 x 35cm.

To make the shortcrust pastry from scratch measure and weigh 100g of cold butter, 200g of plain flour and add a pinch of salt.

Work the butter and flour together till the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. I used my pastry blender to avoid handling the cold butter with my warm hands, using your hands is fine if you don’t own a pastry blender.

Add just enough water to bind the ingredients together, about 2 – 3 tbsp should be enough….

….bring the crumbs together till they JUST begin to form a ball of dough. DON’T overwork the pastry as this will lead to a chewy pastry instead of a crumbly one.

Dust the work surface and begin to roll out the pastry in a rectangular shape.

Line your chosen dish with the pastry and push the pastry up high onto the sides of the dish as it will shrink a little. REMEMBER to prick your pastry with a fork all over (I forgot to do this, oops!), this prevents the pastry from bubbling up. Bake this in the preheated oven for 15 – 20 minutes or until you can see the pastry has cooked through.

Wash and slice the leek if you haven’t already done so,

In a medium saucepan melt 2.5 tbsp of butter….

….once the butter has melted add 1/2 cup of celery, the sliced leek and 1/2 tsp of salt. The stock we will be adding later also contains salt so be mindful of how much you add early on.

Cover the saucepan and let the leek and celery cook for a few minutes.

When you can see the butter bubbling around the bottom of the pan, add 2 tbsp of plain flour and cook for 2 – 3 minutes to remove the floury taste.

Measure 1/2 pint (300ml) of milk.

Add the milk to the pan SLOWLY, stir as you do, you’ll see the milk is absorbed immediately into the flour….

….continue adding the milk slowly, stirring in between, to ensure the milk is absorbed to avoid lumps forming. Do this until all the milk has been added.

Add 3 bay leaves, 1/2 tsp of ground black pepper and 3 cloves….

….followed by the pieces of fish. Mix all the ingredients together.

Cover the saucepan and cook for a few minutes whilst you prepare the stock.

Remove the dish from the oven and check that the pastry has cooked completely, keep to one side until needed.

Using 1/2 pint (300ml) of boiling water, dissolve 1 stock cube, this will create a concentrated stock which is what we want.

Add the stock to the saucepan and stir.

The fish will have cooked a little, using your spoon break down any large fish chunks into smaller flaky pieces.

After adding the stock cover the saucepan and bring to a boil, when you can see the butter bubbling at the top, the filling is cooked.

Remove the bay leaves and cloves from the filling.

The peas will be the last ingredient added as they cook so quickly and will cook once the pie goes into the oven.

Stir the peas in and then allow the filling to cool for 5 – 10 minutes before pouring into the dish.

Roll out the puff pastry….

….place on top of the filling ensuring one corner is placed evenly and the other is overlapping, this will save you having to trim both corners and leave you with one large piece of pastry which we’ll be using to decorate the pie with.

Trim the overlapping corner (top right photo), using a small knife.

Allow the pastry to overlap a little all the way round as pastry has a tendency to shrink a little once baked.

Create some vents in the top of the pie to allow steam to escape while the pie bakes in the oven.

I used a small paring knife to create alternating slits in the top of my pie, which are not only practical but look pretty too!

Using a knife or pizza cutter, cut even strips from the remaining off cuts of pastry.

Working as quickly as you can, twist the pieces of pastry and place on top of the pie. Starting with the centre strip and working outwards either side works best. Cut off any excess using a pair of scissors.

The finished pie should look a little like this (top right photo).

Next whisk 1 egg with a splash of milk/water (the extra liquid makes the egg easier to brush on)

Carefully brush the top of the pie with the egg wash,

Return the pie to the oven and bake for 25 – 30 minutes on gas mark 6 until the top is golden brown.

Serve your Creamy Salmon, Leek & Pea Pie with sides of your choice. We enjoyed our pie with a creamy mash and sweetcorn.

Bon Appetit!

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