I learned how to make this fish pie at a cooking demonstration given by a Finnish diplomat’s wife over 40 years ago. Back then fresh salmon was not so readily available and everyone used tins. In fact I don’t think I tasted fresh salmon until I was in my twenties!
The original recipe used two large tins of salmon. I now make it using a combination of fresh and tinned. If preferred use just fresh salmon. The butter and dill sauce is an optional addition. Not on the menu if you’re watching cholesterol levels, but quite delicious. The cucumber salad is a perfect accompaniment.
Ricotta Cheese Pastry:
2 Tbs chopped fresh dill
2 eggs
3 Tbs cream
Sauce:
100g butter, melted
2-3 Tbs chopped dill
Pastry: Place flour and butter in food processor and process until it forms crumbs. Add cottage cheese and process. As soon as the pastry starts to stick together add just enough water so that it forms into a ball – you may not even need any water, depending how wet your ricotta is. Stop motor immediately, tip out, wrap in plastic wrap and chill while you prepare the filling.
Filling: Place rice and eggs in a saucepan and cover with water. Bring to the boil, then simmer for 10 minutes. Tip into a sieve and allow the rice to drain. Put the eggs back in the pan, cover with cold water and leave until cool enough to handle, then peel. Remove skin and any bones from fresh salmon, then cut into 1-2cm dice. Place in a bowl with the canned salmon (discard skin and bones), the rice, dill, cream and hard-boiled eggs, roughly chopped. Mix well and season to taste.
Place a piece of baking paper on a shallow baking tray. The paper is not essential but makes washing up easier. On a floured surface roll out pastry to measure about 40 cm long and 30cm wide then place on the baking paper, folding it into four to make it easier to move. It doesn’t matter if the edges are ragged, you won’t see them once the pie is finished.
Place salmon filling down centre in the shape of a log or loaf and covering a bit more than a third of the pastry surface, leaving 4-5 cm of pastry at each end. Cut diagonal slits in pastry every 2cm down each side, from the edge of the pastry as far as the filling. Fold in the two ends, wrapping them around the filling, then bring up strips from alternate sides, overlapping them slightly, to form a pseudo-plait. Use your hands to push everything firmly into place. Can be refrigerated at this stage if you like, but not for too long as liquid may start to seep out. Brush with beaten egg then bake for 30-40 minutes at 200°C. Serve warm, cut into slices and drizzled with the sauce.
Sauce: Melt butter and mix with chopped dill.
Variations: use white fish and canned tuna instead of the salmon. Use chopped smoked salmon instead of canned salmon.
Cucumber Salad with Dill
4-5 Lebanese cucumbers (about 15cm long) or 2 longer telegraph cucumbers
1 medium brown onion
1/3 cup vinegar (cider or white wine)
¼ cup water
1-2 tsp salt, to taste
¼ cup sugar
½ cup thick sour cream
½ tsp hot English-style mustard
freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup chopped fresh dill, firmly packed
Peel onion, cut in half and slice thinly. Slice unpeeled cucumbers thinly and mix with onions. The quickest way to do this is with the slicing blade of a food processor.
Mix vinegar, water, salt and sugar. Pour over onions and cucumbers, mix well and leave for 1-2 hours at room temperature, mixing from time to time. Drain cucumbers and onion in a colander or large sieve. Discard the juices. Put the colander in a bowl, so it continues to drain, then put it in the fridge, covered and leave it there draining till serving time. In a small bowl, mix sour cream, mustard, fresh dill and pepper to taste and refrigerate till serving time.
To serve, mix well-drained cucumbers and onions with the sour cream dressing. Garnish with sprigs of dill.
This salad goes well with most fish dishes, especially salmon. It’s also a good addition to a buffet or BBQ.
