Puff Pastry Fish Pies
Classic and comforting fish pie. Although I have altered the classic recipe a little and instead by using puff pastry instead of mash potato. Now, I have nothing against a mash potato top but I really do love some puff pastry. It is just buttery, flaky goodness! I have also written the recipe as individual pies but you can still use the recipe to make one large pie instead. Using the instructions in similar way but, instead, placing all the filling in to one dish and using the whole pastry lattice as a lid (instead of cutting small discs).
In this post:
What do I do with any leftover pastry?
Well today is your lucky day: two recipes for the price of one. For any leftover pastry, there is a really simple solution that you can make at the same time as baking these fish pies.
The solution? Jam tartlets of course! All you need is jam and whatever pastry you have leftover.
Roll out your leftover pastry to around 1/2cm thickness and then cut out as many discs as you can with a 9cm cutter. Keep re-rolling the pastry until it is all used up. Grease a 12-hole muffin tray and then gently press the discs of pastry in to the tray. Place the pastry in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 220C/200C fan and take the pastry out of the fridge. Fill each pastry cup 3/4 full with your favourite jam and then bake the tarts for 15 minutes or until the pastry is golden and crisp.
Allow to fully cool and then enjoy with cream, ice cream or whatever takes your fancy.
Pastry often comes as a 500g pack and, with that, I managed to make 9 tartlets in addition to the fish pies.
Can I reheat the fish pies?
As long as the pies were cooled quickly and then placed into the fridge or freezer in a timely manner, these pies can be reheated.
Reheat at 200C/180C fan for 15minutes and then make sure the centre is piping hot before digging in.
How do stop my pastry going soggy?
To make sure the pastry stays crisp, I like to bake it separately from the pie. This way it doesn't absorb the pie filling at the bottom and doesn't get a soggy bottom. Nobody wants a soggy bottom and it may sound like it defeats the purpose of a pie but it has guaranteed success.
Puff Pastry Fish Pie
Prep time
20-25 minutes
Cook time
40-45 minutes
Makes
3-4 individual pies
250g Puff pastry
30g Butter
35g Plain flour
260g Fish pie mix
250g Milk
1 1/2 tsp Salt
1 tsp Oregano
1/2 tsp Black pepper
75g Frozen peas
How to make a pastry lattice
Making a lattice is, of course, optional. Instead, you can roll the pastry out to 1/2cm thick and then cut out the pastry lids with a 9cm cutter. Cut two holes in the lids and then place on to a lined baking tray. Place the lids into the fridge while you make the filling.
To make the pastry lattice, roll out the pastry to about a 1/2cm thickness (or you can buy ready rolled pastry which is already the right thickness). Cut the pastry into long strips that are around 2cm thick and at least 10cm long.
Lay out 6-8 strips of pastry on a surface parallel to each other. Leave a 2cm gap between each strip. Fold back every alternate strip and then lay a new strip of pastry perpendicular over the parallel strips (are you still with me?)
Unfold the parallel strips over the perpendicular one. Now fold back the strips of pastry that are underneath the perpendicular strip and repeat by placing another perpendicular strip across the parallel strips. Unfold the strips and repeat the process until you have a large square of beautiful lattice pastry.
If I didn't lose you there with that complicated instruction, you should have something that looks a little like this:
Using a 9cm cutter, cut circular pie lids from the lattice and then carefully place the lids onto a lined baking tray. Place the tray in to the fridge while you make the filling.
How to make the fish pie filling
To make the filling, evenly distribute the fish between 2-3 deep, 10cm ramekins and then set aside.
Melt the butter in a small saucepan. Once melted, add the flour and cook for around 3-4 minutes, stirring constantly. Gradually add the milk, making sure the mixture is smooth before adding any more milk.
Add the salt, oregano, pepper and peas and stir until the peas have defrosted. Evenly distribute the sauce between the ramekins that contain the fish.
Baking the fish pie
Preheat the oven to 220C/200C fan or as the pastry instructions state.
Place the ramekins on to a baking tray and bake alongside the pastry lids. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until the pastry is golden and crisp.
Once baked, remove the pastry and ramekins from the oven and place the pastry lids on top of the filling and enjoy!
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