Fish ''pie''

As the winter months are approaching , I find my cooking tends to lean more towards comfort food. Comfort food to me is steaming bowls of stew with meat that falls apart with just a touch of a spoon , crumbles and tarts with lashings of custard , this fish 'pie' is one of those dishes that always just hits the spot for me.  I use shop bought all butter puff pastry for this recipe, as in my own opinion , Puff pastry is just a waste of time to make at home when you can buy perfectly good puff pastry in the supermarket. You could however top this fish pie with creamy mashed potato it would be just as nice, I would recommend to drag a fork across the top of the mashed potato and top with little knobs of butter, just to add some texture to the over all dish.

For this very simple recipe all you will need is

• Some butter for greasing
• One packet of all butter puff pastry
• A little flour for dusting
• One egg, beaten
• Two shallots, finely chopped
• 250ml of white wine, I always use the rule of Only cook with wine you will actually drink yourself, It will make all the difference!
• 250ml of double cream
• 12 raw peeled prawns, cleaned
• One salmon fillet , Weighing roughly 300g , cut into bite size chunks
• One fillet of smoked haddock, weighing roughly 300g , cut into bite size chunks
• Fresh parsley, chopped
• Fresh tarragon, chopped
• Salt and black pepper

Depending on how many portions you are making the amount of fish your going to use will vary.

First start off by preheating an oven to 200C, grease a baking tray.
Lay the pastry on a lightly floured surface and begin to roll out, cut into 11cm rounds.
Brush the puff pastry rounds with the beaten egg, place on the prepared baking tray and bake in an oven for 20 to 25 minutes until golden brown.

Put the chopped shallots and wine into a saucepan, Bring to the boil and allow to boil until the liquid has reduced by half.
Add the cream and a teaspoon of wholegrain mustard. You know when the sauce is done when it begins to coat the back of a spoon.

Next add the prawns and chopped fish, cook gently for five minutes. You will know the fish is done when the prawns have turned pink , now add your seasoning and chopped parsley and tarragon.

Spoon the mixture into warm bowls and top the 'fish pie' with the golden puffed lids of puff pastry.