Rick Stein has spent the last 40 years perfecting the art of seafood cookery. His passion for seafood formed the foundation of his award-winning restaurants and has taken him around the world, discovering innovative new recipes, exciting ingredients and the best ways to prepare all types of seafood.
Rick is a firm supporter of sustainable farming and fishing techniques, which he strives to maintain in Padstow and Falmouth, where he runs five acclaimed restaurants and a seafood cookery school, as well as a delicatessen, patisserie and fishmongers and The Cornish Arms pub in nearby St Merryn.
In his latest cookbook, Fish & Shellfish, Rick shares his wealth knowledge through an inspirational journey of 120 recipes from across the globe and much closer to home, such as this Newlyn Fish Pie that’s the perfect winter warmer and a simple alternative to the traditional Cornish Stargazy Pie.
Newlyn fish pie
Suitable fish: blue cod, blue-eye trevalla, cod, monkfish, hake, pollack, snapper Suitable seafood: crab, lobster, peeled prawns, scallops
200g finely chopped onion
60g butter
1 quantity Velouté
(see page 311), made with
2 bay leaves, 1 crushed
clove, 1 pinch freshly
grated nutmeg
30g Parmesan cheese, grated
50ml double cream
Juice of ½ lemon
Salt
500g mixed seafood: aim for
¾ fish fillet and ¼ shellfish
or crustaceans, such as
prawns, lobster or crab
50g flour
30ml vegetable oil
10g butter
100g button mushrooms,
thinly sliced
1 tsp French mustard
1 tsp truffle oil
For the crust
50g Japanese panko
breadcrumbs or fresh
breadcrumbs dried out for
10 minutes in a hot oven
30g melted butter
Fry the fish first so that it doesn’t thin the creamy sauce in the pie as it cooks.
Preheat the oven to 180°C/gas 4. Slow-cook the onion in the butter in a saucepan for 10 minutes.
Make the velouté using the instructions on page 311 of the book and add the bay leaves, clove and nutmeg. Pour the velouté through a sieve into the sautéed onions and add the Parmesan cheese, double cream and lemon juice, and a little salt if necessary.
Cut the fish fillet into bite-size pieces, 3–4cm long. Season with a little salt and turn over in the flour. Fry for 2–3 minutes in a frying pan over a medium heat using the vegetable oil and butter.
Remove the fish to your pie dish. Fry the mushrooms in the same pan adding a little salt; stir in the mustard and add to the pie dish.
Now add the shellfish or crustaceans to the pie dish. They can be raw or cooked, but if raw scallops or prawns are large, slice them in half. Drizzle the truffle oil over.
Pour the sauce over the fish. Mix the breadcrumbs with the melted butter, and spread over the top. Bake for 20 minutes.
This recipe was taken from Rick Stein’s Fish and Shellfish, published by BBC Books price £25.
