Pie, Pie and more pie!

Well what a day today has been! The day started off cold, wet and windy and Mr B and I feared our day off would go to waste, but then Mum and Dad showed up to lend a hand and they brought enough motivation with them to bring the sun back out for a little while. Mum and I got our green thumbs on in the garden, potting plants and tidying up some of our garden beds whilst Dad and Mr B got stuck into building our new pergola. It's amazing how much difference all the work makes to the look of the house! Just as we had all finished lunch, our ears pricked up to the sound of a car in the driveway and it was none other than Ali and baby Noah calling in for a long awaited catch up. A great day turned into an awesome day (who would have thought I would be saying any day that involved gardening was an awesome day.....)

Whilst we are on the confessional trail, I have another one to make.....we have had pie for dinner EVERY night this week.... but in all fairness Mr B brought me a family sized pie maker for my birthday last week and we all know I get a little excited about new kitchen appliances.....

One of the pies we made this week was this Haloumi and Fish Pie. The combination of the fish and the rice with the currants topped with melty haloumi is fantastic on it's own, but then add in the golden, crispy, flaky pastry and you are on a winner! 

Haloumi and Fish Pie 

You will need:

1 brown onion, finely chopped

• 1 tspn crushed garlic 

• 1 tspn crushed wet basil

• 1/2 cup long-grain white rice 

• 1/4 cup currants

• 1/3 cup dry white wine

• 400g tin of diced tomatoes 

• 250g firm white fish fillets

• 1 x 250g pkt haloumi, coarsely grated or thinly sliced

• 1 sheet of reduced fat puff pastry

• 1 sheet of reduced fat shortcrust pastry

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• Preheat oven to 180°C. 

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• In a lightly greased frypan, add the onion and garlic and cook for 3-4 minutes or until onion softens. 

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• Place the rice in a microwave safe dish, cover with hot water and cook in 5 minute bursts on high, stirring regularly, until cooked. 

Place fish fillets in an oven proof dish and cook for 15 mins if fresh, 25 mins if frozen. 

Add the diced tomato, basil and wine to the onion and garlic. Bring to the boil and then allow to simmer for 12 minutes. Stir in the cooked rice and currants. 

Once the fish is cooked, break it up with a fork and then stir through the sauce mixture in the fry pan. Now if you want, you can serve it up right here and now with some thinly sliced haloumi on top and some crusty bread. Believe me, this is how I had the leftovers and it was delicious. 

Or you can carry on and turn it into a pie! 

If you have a pie maker, pre-heat it and cut the pastry into the appropriate size discs. Use the shortcrust pastry for the base and if you have a family sized pie maker, use about 2 cups of the mixture for your filling. 

Cover with thinly sliced or grated haloumi and then top with your puff pastry lid. Now in a family sized pie maker, this will take around 15-20 mins to cook. In a smaller pie maker it would take around 10-12 minutes. I found that this recipe made enough to fill the family size pie and there was still a bowl leftover for lunch the next day.  

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• If you don't have a pie maker, never fear, you could follow the same steps with a pie dish, brush with some melted butter or egg-wash and place it in the oven to cook for around 20-25 mins or until the pastry is golden. 

We served ours with some cabbage casserole. My Mum used to make this all the time when I was younger and it was the one thing I just baulked at every single time but now, I love it! Go figure hey! 

Mrs B xx