Salmon and Leek Pot Pie

While parts of Washington are getting all kinds of crazy amounts of snow this week, down here in the Willamette valley it's raining cats and dogs. Areas of my town have flooded; people are evacuating out of their homes, and some of the farms where I buy my produce and eggs are completely submerged. It's times like these where I am actually thankful that I live on a big ass hill. Whether you are holed up in your house because of rain or snow, make this salmon and leek pot pie to chase away your winter blues.

You know who else likes salmon? This fuzzy one:

Salmon and Leek Pot Pie
adapted from The America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook
serves 4

Notes: The original recipe makes 6-8 servings, but since I only had one pound of salmon in the freezer and didn't want to buy more, I halved it. You'll still have to bake a whole sheet of puff pastry regardless, but this way you'll have lots of extra to nibble on. This recipe calls for dill, which if you know me at all, you know that I think dill is pretty much the worst thing ever, so needless to say, I left it out. The cookbook seems to think it's pretty important in this dish though, so if you like it, use it.

For the topping:
Flour for the counter
1 (9 1/2- by 9-inch) sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed (heads up, this takes about 40 minutes!)
1 large egg, lightly beaten

For the filling:
1 pound salmon fillets, skin removed
Salt and pepper
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 large or two small leeks, white and light green parts only, halved lengthwise and sliced 1/4-inch thick
1 garlic clove, minced
3 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 (8-ounce) bottle clam juice
1 cup whole milk
1/2 cup frozen peas
2 tablespoons minced fresh dill (Optional. If you do use it, don't sub dried)
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Pinch nutmeg (freshly ground if you have it)
Pinch cayenne pepper
Extra lemon wedges for serving

Get all your ingredients prepped while the puff pastry is thawing.

Preheat the oven to 425 F, and adjust the oven rack to the lowest position. Lightly dust a clean counter top with some flour and gently unfold the sheet of puff pastry. Using a pizza cutter, cut along the two seams so that you have 3 pieces. Then cut each of those crosswise into four pieces, so you have 12 total. You could also get fancy and use different shaped cookie cutters if you wanted. Brush the pastry with the egg, then transfer to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake for about 8 minutes, or until the pastry is puffed and lightly browned (don't worry if it doesn't look done; you will put it back in the oven later). Set aside to cool on the baking sheet until needed.

Reduce the oven temperature to 400 F (at this time I also moved the oven rack up to the middle position, because I was afraid of baking the pot pies that close to the heating element, even though the recipe didn't say to move it up).

Remove any pin bones from salmon and cut into 1/2-inch pieces. Season with salt and pepper. Now decide whether you want to make your pot pies in individual ramekins or a 9x9 (or 9x13 if doubling the recipe) baking dish. I chose ramekins. Divide the salmon among the ramekins or spread out in the bottom of the baking dish and set aside.

Add the butter to a large Dutch oven and heat over medium. When the butter is melted, add the leeks and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Cook for about 5 minutes, or until softened. Stir in the garlic and cook until fragrant, just about 15 seconds. Next, stir in the flour and stir to coat the vegetables. Slowly whisk in the clam juice and milk until smooth. Bring to a simmer and cook for a couple of minutes until the sauce has thickened.

Off heat, add the peas, dill (if using), lemon juice, nutmeg, and cayenne. Taste and season with salt and pepper as needed. Pour the mixture over the salmon in the baking dish or ramekins. Use a spoon to redistribute the salmon evenly throughout the dish.

Arrange the puff pastry rectangles over the casserole, or place one on top of each ramekin. Bake for about 13-15 minutes, or until the sauce is bubbly and the salmon is fully cooked (place ramekins on a baking sheet before placing into the oven). Let sit for about 5 minutes before serving with the lemon wedges (enough time for a photo!).

Leftovers: We made four ramekins' worth of this meal, only ate two that night, and covered the other two with foil and stored in the fridge. The next night, we heated them up right in the ramekins in the microwave, using the "soup" setting. The puff pastry was obviously not as crisp the second day, but other than that it was delicious.

Make ahead: The topping can made up through that first 8 minute baking step up to one day in advance. Wrap them in plastic wrap and store at room temperature until ready to use. The sauce can be made up to a day in advance, just don't add the "off heat" ingredients. Transfer the sauce to a covered container and refrigerate. When ready to assemble and bake the casserole, transfer the sauce back to a saucepan and bring to a simmer, then proceed with the recipe. 

Thanksgiving Leftovers: Shepherd's Pie

I love homemade mashed potatoes, but I can get tired of them pretty quickly.  A good way to use up leftovers is to put them on top of Shepherd's pie.  I have already posted one recipe for a sweet potato Shepherd's pie from Natural Home Magazine, and tonight I made a version from the Tillamook Cheese Cookbook.  It's actually quite a nice cookbook, especially if you are a fan of Tillamook Cheese like me.  Joe and I spent a weekend at the coast this past summer so of course we had to stop by the factory for the free cheese samples!

Shepherd's pie with salad on the side.

Shepherd's Pie topped with Cheddar Mashed Potatoes
adapted from the Tillamook Cheese Cookbook
serves 4

Notes: I only had about half of the mashed potatoes it called for so I planned to just make half the recipe, which would be four servings instead of 8.  As I am typing this up however, it occurs to me that the only ingredients I actually halved were the ground beef, the mashed potatoes, and the cheese.  I accidentally used the full amount of everything else!  Since we thought it tasted really good that way, I'm going to type the recipe up that way too.  :-)

1 pound extra-lean ground beef
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 cup diced onion
1 large carrot, diced
1 teaspoon minced garlic
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1-14 ounce can crushed tomatoes
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 cups mashed potatoes
2 cups shredded Tillamook Sharp Cheddar cheese, divided
2 tablespoons freshly chopped parsley

Preheat the oven to 375 F.  Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Saute the onion and carrot for 8-10 minutes, or until softened.  Add the garlic and cook for another 3 minutes.  Add the ground beef, breaking it up with a wooden spoon, and cook until browned.  Add the Worcestershire, tomato paste, crushed tomatoes, and pepper.  Cook until the mixture has thickened, about 10 minutes.  Spoon the mixture into a 9x9 baking dish.

In a medium bowl, combine the mashed potatoes with 1/2 of the cheese and the parsley.  Spread this potato mixture over the top of the beef mixture with a spatula.  Sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top.  Place the pan onto a baking sheet (I guess this is in case the mixture bubbles over.  It didn't when I made it, but it's not a bad idea, just in case) and bake until it bubbles, about 25 minutes.

Shepherd's Pie

First of all, I forgot to set my camera to macro that night, so this picture is not my favorite.

Second of all, if you ever happen to have leftover mashed potatoes like I did this week, I highly recommend that you use them to make this recipe.  I got it out of Natural Home, a magazine that my friend Amy works for as an editor.  

Not only did I get a great new recipe for Shepherd's Pie from this issue, but I also learned that if you mix 1/2 cup distilled white vinegar with 1/2 cup water and bring it to a rolling boil in your microwave, it will get rid of odors and loosen those stubborn baked-on bits of food so you can easily wipe the inside clean!  I haven't actually tried it yet but I'm excited!

Back to the meal;  I used a lot of variations in this recipe, only because I wanted to use what I had on hand already, but I think it's one of those recipes where there is a lot of wiggle room.  I didn't make the collard greens that it called for, because my mashed potatoes were already flecked with kale.  I used extra lean ground beef instead of turkey, and 2% milk instead of half-n-half.  Instead of chicken stock, I used mushroom broth, which smelled so unbelievably earthy and fantastic.  I think it paired perfectly with the beef.  I had frozen mixed veggies so I used those instead of just peas.  I love sweet potatoes so I want to try this again and use those (especially with the caramelized onions that get mixed in!), but I had white mashed potatoes already, as previously mentioned.

It sounds like a long list of ingredients and there are a lot of steps, but I have to say that in the end it is really worth it.  What might make it more approachable if you were short on time would be to make the potatoes (the topping) one night for a side dish, and save the rest to make this another night (you would just have less potatoes to spread over the filling).

Southern Shepherd's Pie

adapted from Natural Home

Serves 6-8

Filling:

2 leeks, washed and sliced, white parts plus two inches of the green parts

2 tablespoons butter

1 cup collard greens

2 tablespoons mild olive oil

2 pounds ground white turkey meat

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon Tabasco

1 tablespoon flour

1 tablespoon tomato paste (I use one of those squeeze tubes and it keeps in the fridge for a loooong time)  

1/4 cup half-n-half

1/2 cup beer (I used Full Moon Winter Ale)

1 1/2 cups chicken stock

1 tablespoon soy sauce

5 pieces of fresh thyme

1 cup butterpeas, cooked

Topping:

2 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped

1 teaspoon salt

2 large, sweet onions, sliced into 1/4 inch rings

Olive oil (vegetable oil might be more economical, since you need quite a bit)

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/3 cup half-n-half

Preparing the filling: 

Start a pot of water boiling so you can blanch or lightly steam the collard greens.  When they are tender, roughly chop and set aside.

Meanwhile, in a large pan over low heat, melt two tablespoons of butter and saute the leeks until they are tender but not browning.  Set aside with the collard greens.  

Wipe out the pan you just used to saute the leeks.  Heat the olive oil in the pan over medium heat, add the meat, stirring often to break it up.  Cook until browned.  Add the salt, Tabasco, flour, and tomato paste.  Stir it all together and cook for about 1 minute.  Add the half-n-half, cook, stirring, for another minute.  Add the beer, stock, soy sauce, and thyme.  Simmer over moderate heat for 10-15 minutes, or until the mixture has thickened.  Stir often.

Off heat, stir in the peas, leeks, and collard greens.  Taste and season with salt and more Tabasco as needed.  Spoon the mixture into a 2-quart casserole dish.

Preparing the topping:

In a large pot, add the potatoes and salt, add water to cover by several inches.  Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and let them cook for about 20 minutes, or until fork-tender.  Drain potatoes and return them to the pot.

In a large pan, add enough oil so it about an inch deep.  Heat until hot, but not smoking, then reduce to medium-low and add the onions.  Cook for 15-20 minutes, stirring every so often, until the onions are very soft and deep brown (you want basically caramelized onions in the end).  

Back to the potatoes - mash them in the pot and add the butter, half-n-half, and the onions.  Taste and add salt if necessary.

Put it all together:

Use a spatula to spread the potatoes over the filling.  Bake at 375 F for 25-35 minutes.  Drink the rest of your beer while you wait.  It's done when the topping is bubbling furiously.