Finnish fish pie

On a trip to Finland a few years ago it only took me a couple of meals to realise how much dill and salmon feature in the country’s wonderful cuisine. This pie is a little ode to the Fin’s favourite ingredients, all topped off with a deliciously buttery, flaky pastry.

Finnish fish pie Credit: Alan Benson

• serves

  4

• prep

  30 minutes

• cook

  45 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 40 g butter
• 2 celery stalks, trimmed and sliced
• 35 g (¼ cup) plain flour
• 250 ml (1½ cup) milk
• 125 ml (½ cup) pouring (thin) cream
• 50 g (½ cup) coarsely grated vintage cheddar
• 3 spring onions, trimmed and sliced
• 1½ tbsp baby capers, rinsed and drained
• 2 tbsp chopped dill
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 700 g skinless salmon fillets, pin-boned and cut into 3 cm pieces
• 1 quantity simple flaky pastry
• 1 egg yolk, lightly whisked with 2 tsp milk, to glaze

Pastry making time: 45 minutes

Instructions

Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the celery and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes or until starting to soften. Add the flour and stir with a balloon whisk for about 1 minute until the mixture is bubbling and leaves the sides of the pan.

Remove the pan from the heat and gradually stir in half the milk, stirring constantly, until smooth. Gradually add the remaining milk and cream, stirring until smooth. Return the pan to medium heat and stir constantly until the sauce thickens and starts to simmer. Reduce the heat to low and simmer, stirring frequently, for 2 minutes.

Transfer the sauce immediately to a large heatproof bowl and stir in the cheddar, spring onions, capers, dill and mustard. Taste and season well with salt and pepper.

Place in the fridge for about 1 hour or until cooled to room temperature.

Preheat the oven to 200˚C (180°C fan-forced). You will need a 1.5 litre (6 cup) capacity ovenproof dish to cook the pie.

When the sauce has cooled, add the salmon and stir gently to combine evenly.

Use a lightly floured rolling pin to roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface to the shape of the dish until about 4 mm thick. Spoon the cooled salmon mixture into the dish, then brush the edge of the dish with a little of the eggwash. Place the pastry over the filling to cover, then use a small sharp knife to run around the edge of the pie dish on a slight angle to trim the excess pastry. Use a fork to press around the edge of the dish to seal. Cut a cross in the top of the pie and then brush the pastry with a little eggwash to glaze. Decorate the top with the off-cuts of pastry, if desired, and then glaze again with the little of the eggwash.

Place the pie on a baking tray and bake for 45 minutes or until the pastry is dark golden, crisp and cooked through. Serve straight from the oven.

Photography by Alan Benson. Styling by Anneka Manning. Food preparation by Tina McLeish.

  

Anneka's mission is to connect home cooks with the magic of baking, and through this, with those they love. For hands-on baking classes and baking tips, visit her at BakeClub. Don't miss what's coming out of her oven via Facebook,Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest.

This recipe is part of our Bakeproof: Pies.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.