Trout Pies

The most amazing trout pies with hot water pastry. Recently I found The Vis Fabriek to have an amazing price on their frozen trout ribbons, and the quality of the fish was pretty impressive.

Now that i am done being frugal, let's be fabulous shall we? These pies are meaty and delicious and the fact they come enveloped in buttery pastry just makes them irresistable! We have many traditions

as a family and one of them is stopping in at Milly's, a delightful Trout farm on the way to The Kruger National Park on the N4 just before Machadodorp. This is n ode to their spectacular pies, as eating them once every so few years is actually not enough! So here goes our "home version". Let it be said , sneak in some veg (for this recipe I recommend cauliflower, broccoli, carrots, leeks), children devour this pie, well mine did!

Hot water pastry or shortcrust are perfect for this pie recipe.

Without further adieu, let's get stuck into it shall we?

Trout Pies in Hot Water Pastry

Hot Water Pastry Ingredients

• 280g Self-raising Flour

• 2ml Salt

• 100g butter

• about 100ml boiling water.

Sift your salt & self-raising flour in a bowl.

In a separate bowl add boiling water and butter, allow to melt completely.

add the melted butter and water mixture to the flour, what I love about this recipe is I don't have to knead the dough...which funnily enough is not my vibe! Just stir with a wooden spoon until a soft dough is formed. Wrap in cling film and leave in the fridge for an hour.

Trout Filling Ingredients

• 500g trout off cuts

• 200g frozen hake

• 1 diced onion

• 2 diced garlic cloves

• 1 peeled and diced potato

• 1 peeled and diced carrot

• 1 cup steamed broccoli

• 200ml cream

• 1 cup water

• 1 Tablespoon oil

• 1/2 cup white wine

• 1 handful chopped parsley & fennel

In a pan on a medium heat, add oil and diced onion.

Soften until translucent.

Add remaining diced veg & garlic.

Once veg starts sticking to the pan, add the wine and let it cook away, then add water and bring to a high heat to cook vegetable slightly. Reduce heat.

To that add your frozen hake and let it cook slightly then add trout, broccoli and cream.

Let most of the cream reduce and thicken allowing the fish to cook and flake into the mixture.

Roll out chilled pastry, I used a saucer to cut out rounds for pie bases and placed them into a grease muffin pan and then filled with the trout mixture. You can also spoon to dollops into a flat circle of pastry and fold it in half to make half moon pies.

I created lids that I placed on top of the pies once I had spooned the mixture in.

Bake in preheated oven @ 180 degrees Celsius for approximately 40 min or until golden brown.

Tadaaaaa, the best fricken pies you will eat...guaranteed!