Today I’m trying out yesterday’s potato pastry for a savory recipe – fish pies! And by fish I mean, yes, another salt cod recipe. It’s so versatile and the meaty texture of the salt cod is great with vegetables.
Fish Pies
INGREDIENTS
4 ounces all-purpose flour
1 pinch salt
4 to 7 ounces smooth mashed potatoes
1 1/2 ounces butter, cubed
1 tablespoon drippings
1/2 onion, medium diced
1/2 medium carrot, peeled and medium diced
1/4 cup celeriac, peeled and medium diced
1 stalk celery, peeled and medium diced
1/2 small turnip, medium diced
2 tablespoons salt cod, soaked overnight in several changes of water and cooked
Freshly ground black pepper
METHOD
Put the flour in the bowl of a standing mixer with a dough hook attachment. Add the salt and mix thoroughly. Turn it on the lowest setting and add the butter and potato until the dough achieves a short crust pastry consistency. Do not overmix. Remove the dough from the mixer and refrigerate, covered in plastic wrap. Preheat the oven to 375°F.
Heat the drippings in a sauté pan and gently sweat the onion, carrots, celeriac, celery and turnip until just partially cooked. Do not allow to brown. Remove from the heat and add the salt cod and pepper. Roll out the dough to 1/8 inch thick, using a little flour. Using a large cookie cutter, about 2 to 3 inches in diameter, punch circles out of the dough. Put a little of the salt cod mixture in the center of half of one of the circles. Dampen the edge of the circle and fold it over to seal it into a semi-circle pie. Bake on a parchment-lined sheet tray until golden brown.
The Ration Diaries 
I’m very excited to discover this site.i’m a big history buff-love to read about WWII. I read about all the battles but I really love reading about how the average person coped in Britain & America esp rationing, woman taking jobs etc. have plans to try several recipes (might even try the brussel sprouts even tho I haven’t eaten them I was a child & tried to swallow whole so I wouldn’t taste) I’m intreaged by the potato pastry & would like to try both recipes, I don’t have a stand mixer or food processor right now (winter in very sm condo) can I make by hand? Sorry to ramble on but love this. My grandmother used to make Spam sandwiches for my Grandfather which I always ate when I spent summers with her. Thank you
I had the same experience with Brussels sprouts as a kid! You can combine the ingredients for the pastry in a bowl and knead by hand if you don’t have a mixer. You may need to adjust the consistency a little with extra flour if it’s too moist or milk if it’s too dry.
What is a soft crust pastry consisenct ( for the uninitiated to those things!
Similar to pie dough.