A delicious English delicacy.
Ingredients
- Filet of white fish (cod): 400 g, boneless and skinless
- Salmon fillet: 300 g, boneless and skinless
- Milk: 300 ml
- Bay leaf: 1
- Peppercorns: 4
- Small onion, thinly sliced: 1
- Butter: 40 g, plus extra for greasing the baking dish
- Flour: 40 g
- Chopped parsley: 2 tablespoons
- Heavy cream: 150 ml
- Hard-boiled eggs, sliced: 2
- Puff pastry: 400 g
- Egg, beaten: 1
- Salt and pepper
Optional sides:
- Salad with tomatoes and vinaigrette
- Steamed vegetables
Preparation
Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius (400 degrees Fahrenheit). Grease a 1.2-liter ovenproof dish with butter.
Place the cleaned fish in a skillet and pour in the milk. Add bay leaf, peppercorns, and onion slices. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover, and simmer for about 10-12 minutes.
Remove from heat and strain the milk into a measuring cup (remove pepper and bay leaves). Add more milk if needed to make 300 ml of liquid. Divide the fish fillets into larger pieces, removing any bones.
Bechamel sauce: Melt butter in a saucepan over low heat, add flour, and cook, stirring constantly, for about 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat and gradually add 300 ml of milk, stirring well. Return saucepan to heat and cook, stirring constantly, until sauce thickens. Cook for another 2-3 minutes until smooth. Add parsley, heavy cream, season with salt and pepper.
Place fish in the greased ovenproof dish, add sliced hard-boiled eggs, season with salt and pepper. Pour over the bechamel sauce and gently mix.
Roll out the puff pastry to a thickness of about 3 mm, larger than the ovenproof dish. Trim the edges to create a strip about 1 cm wide. Moisten the edges of the dish with water and press the pastry strip onto the edge. Moisten the attached pastry strip with water and attach the pastry “lid” to it. Press the edges of the pastry to seal them well. Brush the top and sides of the pastry with beaten egg. Prick the pastry with a knife in 3-4 places (this prevents the pastry from getting soggy underneath).
Place the bake in the preheated oven and bake for 20-25 minutes. If the top of the bake browns too quickly towards the end of baking, cover it loosely with foil.
