When is it acceptable to have a pastry lid on a fish pie? When it's a crab and prawn pot pie! Ok, this recipe is a bit of a faff, so it's not a Tuesday night dinner, more of a friends over on a Saturday or an alternative to your Sunday roast. It's worth the faff, as we all know, most of the flavour in a prawn comes from the shell and the head and this recipe makes the best out of the prawns and you are rewarded with a comforting, creamy, crabby, prawny pie.
Serves 6 - Two small pies or one big one
INGREDIENTS
- 1.2kg whole raw king prawns, shelled and deveined, heads and shells reserved
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil (plus extra for the chips, if you like)
- 1 litre fish stock, hot
- 80g unsalted butter
- 2 shallots, diced
- 2 carrots, diced
- 3 celery sticks, diced
- 2 leeks, sliced
- 80g plain flour
- 160ml dry white wine
- 200ml double cream
- 20g parmesan
- 1 tsp ground black pepper
- 200g white crabmeat
- 100g brown crabmeat
- 20g parsley, finely chopped
- 20g tarragon, finely chopped
-
150g cooked shelled Atlantic prawns
- 2 x 320g all-butter puff pastry sheets
- 1 egg, beaten
- Mayonnaise to serve (optional)
Save the 6 best-looking prawn heads to go on top of the pies. Heat the oil in a saucepan over a medium heat.
Tip the remaining prawn heads and shells into the pan and stir to combine. Cook the shells in the oil until they turn pink all over and smell intensely savoury and prawny (around 5 minutes). Pour in the hot fish stock, bring up to a simmer and cook gently (uncovered) for 30 minutes while you prep the rest of your ingredients.
In a large saucepan (one with a lid), melt the butter over a medium heat until sizzling. Stir in the shallots, carrots, celery and leeks, then season generously with salt and pepper. Put a lid on and cook for 10 minutes until the vegetables have softened slightly but not taken on any colour.
Stir in the flour. This bit won’t look pretty but hold your nerve – it will all be fine. Cook the flour for a minute or two, then pour in the white wine, stirring well. Let the mixture bubble, then strain the fish/prawn stock through a fine sieve into a jug. (You should have 800ml. If not, top up with hot water.) Ladle the stock into the floury veg a bit at a time, stirring with each addition, in the same way as you would with a bechamel sauce.
Once all the stock has been incorporated, let the sauce simmer for 5 minutes or so to cook out the flour. Taste the mixture to make sure it doesn’t taste floury – if it does it will need a little more cooking. Add the double cream, parmesan, black pepper and some salt to taste. Remove from the heat, pour into your pie dishes and leave to cool, covered with a layer of cling film touching the surface to prevent it getting a skin. Once the mixture is at room temperature you can remove the cling film (keep it handy) and stir in the white and brown crabmeat, chopped herbs, Atlantic prawns and raw king prawns. Cover again with the cling film and chill until completely cold.
Heat the oven to 200°C/ 180°C fan/gas 6.
Unroll the pastry sheets – they need to be about 3cm longer and wider than the edges of your pie dishes. Brush the edge of each dish with beaten egg, then carefully lay the pastry on top. Trim off any extreme excess leaving a 3cm border, then press the pastry firmly onto each dish. Fold over the borders to create a double crust, then use a fork or your fingers to crimp indents into the folded borders, sealing the pie lid to the dish well. Cut a cross in the middle of the pastry and carefully insert 3 prawn heads – this is your chimney to let the steam out and stop the pie lid lifting up. Brush all over the pastry lid with egg and sprinkle with a bit of salt. Repeat with the second pie.
Bake the pies for 35-40 minutes until the pastry is puffed and golden brown and the filling is bubbling.
Serve with buttery mash and green beans or if you want something fresher, chips and a salad with a zingy lemony dressing.