Seafood Pie With Rösti Topping

Last year I recall seeing many seafood & fish pie dishes being presented by my Brit friends 'oer across the pond. To all of you, each and every pie you baked had me salivating and I promised you all and myself to add this dish to my roster.

The kicker for this dish is what the book calls a "rösti" topping. For those not in the know, rösti is a Swiss dish of grated potato, usually mixed with butter or animal fat and fried into lovely patties of spud goodness.

This seafood pie emulates that taste and texture on the topping. Many fish & seafood pies get the mashed potato topping but when I read this technique, I loved it from the the "get go" and the result is a textured, fab looking topping that will please the eye and the belly on these cold autumn nights.

The dish comes from a book called Easy Entertaining by Julia Aitkens. There are few few photographs in the book but it's jammed with many simple dishes that will WOW your guests with little effort.

This recipe originally called for smoked salmon - I had smoked mackerel. It's all good as long as you added something smoked for the proper flavour mix.

Seafood Pie With Rösti Topping

Filling
1 1 1/4 cups of cold milk
1 cup dry white wine
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup butter
1lb cod, haddock or other white fish 8oz. raw shrimp, peeled & deveined 8oz. of bay scallops
2 cups of frozen mixed vegetables (thawed & rinsed)
4oz. of smoked salmon
3-4 bunches of scallions, chopped
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/4 cup minced dill pickles
2 Tbsp. chopped fresh dill
splash of Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp. of black pepper
1/4 tsp. of salt
1 large bay leaf
1 clove of garlic

Topping
2 large Yukon Gold potatoes
1/3 cup of melted butter
salt and pepper

Pre-heated 400F oven

1. For the filling: In a large sauepan over medium-high heat, combine the milk, wine and flour, bay leaf and whisk until smooth. Stir in butter and bring to a boil while whisking and the mixture becomes smooth and bubbly. Reduce to medium and whisk for a couple of minutes until it thickens.
2. Add the fish and seafood, mixed vegetables, scallions, herbs, pickles and Worcestershire, salt and pepper and stir gently. Taste & adjust seasoning with salt and pepper and remove the bay leaf and garlic clove. Spoon/pour the mixture into a 11 by 7 inch baking lined with parchment.
3. For the topping: Add the potatoes (skin on) to a large pot of water and fill with enough water to just cover. Bring to a boil and add salt and boil for 15-20 minutes, until just under-cooked. Drain and place in cold water to cool down just enough for you to safely handle them.
4. Peel the skins off the potatoes with the aid of the back of a knife and using the largest holes of your box grater, grate the potatoes evenly over the surface of your seafood pie mixture.
5. Using a brush, dip it in your melted butter and sprinkle over top of your potato topping. Lightly season the topping with salt and pepper and place in your pre-heated oven for 40-45 minutes. If necessary, heat the broiler and the broil your seafood pie for 2-3 minutes to get a golden-brown topping.
6. Remove from the oven, allow to cool for 10 minutes, cut into portions and serve immediately with a dry white wine.
   

Say Hello to My Little Friends

As I've written in my brief profile, I also have pet cockatiels. Cockatiels are considered small parrots, the males can vocalize and they are indigenous to Australia.

A friend of mine once worked in Australia and she called the Humane Society on a few occasions to notify them that she spotted some cockatiels that had escaped. She soon (embarassingly) found out that they were in fact wild cockatiels.

Allow me to introduce you to my crazy birds; at the top in her princess stance is the hen, Nikki. She likes to have her head scratched and enjoys the occasional romp with Bobby. Bobby is the cock (male) and he likes saying, "Hello Bobby, how are you" and he sings a few ditties (when in the mood) and he likes mounting Nikki, on occasion.

To your bottom right sits Tonto. He's the eldest male (the siblings have been sold to good homes), he likes watching TV, imitating Bobby's songs and struts around looking for his elusive mate.

For those that have pets, you know that one is truly never alone with the company of such intelligent, giving creatures.

Now it's back to my other passion, food. One of the newer additions to my Google reader is FXCuisine. Francois-Xavier (FX) is a French-Swiss fellow who lives on the shores of Lake Geneva and he shares his creations that are largely continental European.

Francois-Xavier most recently shared a potato dish called Swiss Alpine Potatoes. I had to immediately try this out because it's so easy and I'm always up for trying another recipe with the versatile spud.

All one needs is some potatoes, onions, good smoky bacon or pancetta, some aged Swiss or cheddar and some fresh rosemary.

I stayed true to FX's directions but I did need to use some olive oil and I added some chicken stock to help along with cooking process and avoid any burning on the bottom of the skillet.

If you want a quick starch to go with your dinner, like a sausage or steak, try out FX's Swiss Alpine Potatoes.

Tell'em Peter sent ya!