A mid-week smoked fish pillow pie

A mid-week smoked fish pillow pie

A fish pie is a labour of love—the filling, the cooling, the pastry—it’s a lot and not something I’d tackle midweek. I once heard Nigel Slater on his Christmas chronical podcast (my go-to for calming listening) describe a “pillow pie”—a shortcut he took to comforting spiced pumpkin pie he craved—and it stuck with me. This is my version: the fish pie flavours I love, but simplified for when time and energy are short. It’s lovely with a crisp fennel slaw

Serves 4

  • Ingredients

    2 sheets of all butter puff pastry, roughly 27x 20cm

    350g smoked trout (the fillets you can flake)

    150g crème fraiche

    ½ bunch dill, finely chopped

    Handful of rocket in a bunch, chopped

    2 spring onions, finely chopped

    1 lemon zest

    1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

    Salt to your liking

    ¼ teaspoon pepper

    1 egg, whisked

    Serve with lemon wedges.

  • Method

     

    Preheat oven to 200C (180FF).

    Pending on the brand of all butter puff pastry you
    have, either cut the sheet in half so you have 2 rectangles, then roll or stretch one out so it is slightly bigger than the other (this will be our lid). Or if you have two sheets of puff pastry squares, roll them out
    slightly to form two rectangles, making sure one is slightly bigger than the other. Prick the smaller rectangle all over with a fork, then place on
    a baking paper lined tray. This will be the base of our pie. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes or until starting to golden and puff. Remove from oven, lay a tea towel over it and press down so the flattens the base.

     

    Meanwhile, combine the smoked trout, 150g crème fraiche, dill, rocket, spring onions, 1 teaspoon mustard, zest of 1 lemon. Season with salt and pepper to your liking.

    Place filling over the base of the cooked pastry, leaving a 1cm border. Stretch your uncooked pastry
    rectangle over the top and seal edges using a fork
    dusted in flour (to avoid the fork sticking to
    pastry). Brush pie with beaten egg. Bake for 25-35 minutes or until golden. Sit for a few minutes
    before slicing. Nice severed at room temp too.

if you’d rather not have the smoky flavour or can’t find smoked fillets, poach some raw ocean trout (or salmon) fillets instead. Just a little water in a
pan—about 1cm deep—then cover and steam gently for 8 minutes until just cooked. Let it cool, then combine with the other ingredients. 

Print Recipe

More Recipes

  • Pasta, chickpeas and salami

    Pasta, chickpeas and salami

    Pasta e ceci, a love story. Pasta and beans are a classic, and one of my favourites. It’s born from the pantry, costs next to nothing, and food for the tired...

    Pasta, chickpeas and salami

    Pasta e ceci, a love story. Pasta and beans are a classic, and one of my favourites. It’s born from the pantry, costs next to nothing, and food for the tired...

  • Coffee, oat, chia puddings

    Coffee, oat, chia puddings

    I’m not generally much of a food prepper, but I’m so obsessed with this breakfast-on-the-go recipe, I can’t ever not see myself motivated to make it. These are overnight COFFEE,...

    Coffee, oat, chia puddings

    I’m not generally much of a food prepper, but I’m so obsessed with this breakfast-on-the-go recipe, I can’t ever not see myself motivated to make it. These are overnight COFFEE,...

  • Banana Porridge Pancakes

    Banana Porridge Pancakes

    Here’s my banana porridge pancakes. I shared this recipe way back when Louis was only a baby 🥹 but here it is again - unchanged, but now well worn in...

    Banana Porridge Pancakes

    Here’s my banana porridge pancakes. I shared this recipe way back when Louis was only a baby 🥹 but here it is again - unchanged, but now well worn in...

NaN -Infinity