Fish Pie With a Sourdough Crust

- Total Time
- 1½ hours
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- 5tablespoons/70 grams unsalted butter, melted
- 4slices bacon (about 2½ ounces/70 grams), thinly sliced crosswise
- 1large or 2 small leeks (about 10 ounces/300 grams), trimmed, halved lengthwise, sliced crosswise ¾-inch/2-centimeters thick and washed well
- 4garlic cloves, finely chopped
- ¼cup/40 grams all-purpose (plain) flour
- 3tablespoons mustard powder
- 1½cups/360 milliliters whole milk
- 1cup/240 milliliters chicken stock
- Kosher salt and black pepper
- ¼cup/10 grams roughly chopped fresh tarragon, plus 1 tablespoon reserved for garnish
- ¼cup/10 grams roughly chopped fresh parsley, plus 1 tablespoon reserved for garnish
- 2tablespoons/5 grams roughly chopped fresh dill, plus 1 tablespoon reserved for garnish
- 8ounces/225 grams boneless, skinless salmon fillets, cut into roughly 1-inch/3-centimeter pieces
- 8ounces/225 grams boneless, skinless halibut fillets, cut into roughly 1-inch/3-centimeter pieces
- 6ounces/170 grams extra-large shrimp (prawns), peeled and deveined, tails removed
- 2teaspoons finely grated lemon zest, plus 2 tablespoons juice (from 1 to 2 lemons)
- 8ounces/225 grams crustless sourdough, cut into 1-inch/3-centimeter cubes
- 3tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Preparation
- Step 1
Heat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit/200 degrees Celsius.
- Step 2
In a large sauté pan or skillet, heat 2 tablespoons butter over medium-high. Add the bacon and cook, stirring occasionally, until it starts to take on color, about 5 minutes. Add the leeks and cook, stirring occasionally, until beginning to soften, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in the flour and mustard powder, then add the milk, stock, ¾ teaspoon salt and a good grind of pepper, stirring to get rid of any lumps. Bring to a simmer, then lower the heat to medium and cook until thickened, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat, stir in the tarragon, parsley and dill, then set aside to cool slightly, about 15 minutes.
- Step 3
Add the salmon, halibut and shrimp to a 9-by-13-inch/23-by-33-centimeter baking dish. Sprinkle all over with ½ teaspoon salt and plenty of pepper, then top with the lemon zest and juice. Pour the sauce on top, stirring gently to combine.
- Step 4
In a large bowl, toss the bread with the remaining 3 tablespoons melted butter until well coated. Transfer to the baking dish, gently pressing to submerge the bread cubes halfway into the base. Bake until golden and bubbling, 25 to 28 minutes. Set aside to cool for about 15 minutes.
- Step 5
While the pie is in the oven, combine the reserved chopped herbs and oil in a small bowl. Drizzle this all over the pie right before serving.
Private Notes
Comments
I get the bacon - but chicken stock with fish? No - I'll be using fish stock/court bouillon in the sauce. Also, if using English (Colman's) mustard powder, us 1/2 the amount prescribed - otherwise the result will be inedible.
What about some dry white wine? Seems like a natural to me.
this was awesome! it took me a while to get it all together (we ate at 10:30pm!) but i think this recipe is genius. i ignored the bacon (i hate bacon) and just added some paprika to the leeks; and i used fish stock rather than chicken stock, which to me made more sense.
I order a version of this at Ottolenghi’s Islington restaurant when I’m in London and love it. Hints: simmer the broth with nori and the shrimp shells before using, and add anchovies to the sauce, for better umami. No salt needed. I added the lemon juice/zest to the oil/herbs to finish because cooking the lemon juice with the fish might embitter it. Finally, I added a Caesar salad spice mix made with mustard, dill, etc to the sauce, along with finely chopped celery. In contrast to comments here, I did not feel the quantity of mustard in this recipe to be excessive. I used the full amount of Colmans, and thus dish was splendid.
This was incredible. It may be the most delicious thing I've cooked from nyt cooking so far. We added peas, carrots, and potatoes to the filling so it wasn't just fish and bread.
Can this be frozen in individual servings?
@MG San Diego - I’ve frozen it successfully.