Fisherman's Pie and Homegrown Mushrooms
I've mentioned before that I am pretty hopeless at gardening, having to buy new fresh herb plants on an almost monthly basis! The only thing I can keep alive is my little bay leaf tree. Of late however though, I have been having more success. I have had a little orange tree since July, an amaryllis that just opened and an orchid that is just gorgeous. Given this stroke of good luck I decided to try my hand at growing mushrooms. Why mushrooms? Well, my kids just love them. My older daughter eats them with everything. It's one of the few vegetables (fungi really, I know) that I can get into them. I've been reading up on mushrooms and had no idea how amazing they were. I stumbled across an article on iContact explaining some of the medical benefits of certain types, which might even be banned soon. Who knew? Click here to read the article.
Anyhow, I bought a little kit from Bakker to grow some nice French mushrooms in the hopes that I would end up buying less. I thought it would be a neat lesson in horticulture and mycology for Ella, who really is eager to learn about plants and gardening. I followed all the instructions to a tee and began to worry that it wasn't going to happen when a few weeks ago I noticed tiny little white spots emerging from the soil. These little spots quickly blossomed into beautiful chestnut mushrooms.
Ella and her Dad picked a few from the first harvest so we could try them. I wanted to use them in a dish that would allow their flavour to come out as well as just sauteeing them in some butter.
I elected to use them in a simple Fish pie, as the fish I was using was mild and would compliment the mushrooms well. The flavour from the mushrooms was incredible. A real earthy flavour, with a lovely meaty texture left us feeling quite satisfied!
This is a simple recipe and a good way to get seafood into kids. You can use whatever fish you have on hand. Normally I like to add at least one smoked variety, usually haddock, to add a nice smoky flavour. For this particular batch I added some leftover smoked salmon I had from the other morning, some regular salmon, cod and a lobster that had been hanging out in my freezer for much too long!
To feed six you would be looking at about 1.5 pounds of seafood. Kids love this recipe for some reason, even my two who swear they hate F-I-S-H! I tend to mash the fish into the potatoes for the younger one and she doesn't even know it's there. The sauce is rich and tasty and seems to be enough to disguise the fish for them.
You can also make these as individual pies, which are great for kids or dinner parties, or if you have picky eaters who don't like a certain fish your using, or maybe you have kosher guests and need to leave the seafood out of some of them.
Ingredients:- 6-8 peeled russet or rooster potatoes
- 1/2 cup cream, warmed
- 1/2 cup butter, at room temperature
- salt and pepper
- 2 cups fish stock
- 1 cup white wine
- 3 shallots, finely diced
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 lbs fish of your choosing
- 1/2 lb seafood of your choosing, prawns, lobster, crayfish etc.
- 8 oz, mushrooms thickly sliced
- 1 large leek, sliced
- 2 tbsp butter
- 1 tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley
Boil your peeled potatoes in salted water until cooked. Mash with the cream and butter. Set aside. Note - If you are planning on piping the potato, use a ricer, as any lumps will not go through your tips.
Then make the veloute:
Saute the shallots in the butter until translucent. Add the wine and allow to reduce until there is very little liquid left. Add the stock and allow to reduce by half. Then add the cream and again reduce by half or until slightly thickened. If you like you could strain at this point, but I like the shallots in the veloute.
Gently poach the fish in the veloute until just undercooked.
Saute the mushrooms and leeks in the butter until just underdone.
Arrange the fish in the bottom of your buttered pie dish. Scatter around the raw seafood (this will cook in the oven - if you cook first it will become rubbery) and then scatter the mushrooms and leek mixture on top. Add the veloute. You may not need it all, but be your own judge. Sprinkle with parsley. My pie is pictured above without the topping.
Pipe or spoon the mashed potato on top. You can use and egg wash or some grated parmesan if you would like a more browned crust.
Bake in a 350F/180C oven for twenty minutes or so until potato has firmed up and slightly browned. Allow to stand for a few minutes and serve.
You really don't need a side dish, but a salad and some crusty bread to soak up the sauce would not go amiss.
These directions sound complicated, but really, this only takes a little while to put together and it is very elegant. Enjoy!
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