Not only do we grow tired of eating chicken from time to time, its been hard to find good quality organic, free range birds in the grocery store lately. The supply chain issues are real and I know we are all sick of hearing about it, but its a good time to branch out and try new things. My oldest daughter has recently become addicted to salmon and wants to eat it constantly. I love a simple pot pie for Sunday supper, especially when there is still a chill in the air. I found some lovely local leeks and carrots at my favorite neighborhood grocery and they were the inspiration for this meal. We are all still trying to be healthy so I used phyllo dough for the crust which is a very light option comparatively and only a splash of milk in the sauce. This turned out to be quite good and I’ll definitely be adding it to our rotation.
What you need:
-1 lb of fresh salmon
-2 tbsp olive oil
-5 tbsp butter
-salt and pepper
-1 large leek or 2 small ones
-2-3 large carrots
-1 celery stalk plus leaves reserved
-1/4 cup dry white wine (I used Viognier)
-3 tbsp all purpose flour
-3 tbsp fresh squeezed lemon juice
-2 tbsp fresh chopped parsley, 2 tsp fresh dill (or whatever herbs you like : )
dried herbs work fine here too, but use half the amount
-1 cup frozen peas
-2 cups chicken broth or fish stock
-1/4 cup milk
-5 sheets of phyllo dough
If you are using frozen phyllo dough, be sure to remove it from the freezer about 2 hours ahead of time. What you don’t use can easily be refrozen afterwards. Now begin by removing the skin from your salmon fillet and slicing it into 2 inch chunks, set aside. Preheat the oven to 375. Wash and chop your vegetables and place a pan over medium heat on the stove top and add your olive oil plus 3 tbsp of butter. Add the carrots, leek, and celery and sprinkle over some salt and pepper. Stir occasionally and let the vegetables cook for about 10 minutes. After the vegetables have softened pour over your white wine and raise the temperature to medium/high and allow the alcohol to cook off. When most of the wine has evaporated (should just take 2-3 minutes) turn the heat back down to medium/low and add 2 more tbsp butter. Add 3 tbsp flour by sprinkling overtop of all the vegetables and stir slowly to cook off the raw flour flavor. Be careful not to burn the flour but let it coat the vegetables, scrape up any brown bits as you stir, do this for about 3-4 minutes.
Next pour the lemon juice into the pan and stir again, this will help deglaze the pan. Now add your broth, one cup at a time and stir to incorporate. Keep stirring as the sauce thickens. After about 1 minute of slow stirring, pour in the 1/4 cup of milk or half and half. Allow to bubble for a minute while stirring, this will prevent the milk from curdling when it goes into the oven. Keep stirring until it reaches your desired thickness keeping in mind that it will get slightly thicker in the oven. Now turn off the heat, stir in your fresh parsley, celery leaves, or other herbs, and allow to sit while you prep everything else.
Place your raw salmon and peas on the bottom of a 9x9 baking dish or pie pan. Sprinkle a dash of salt and pepper on the top of the fish and peas. Now take your vegetables and sauce and pour over the top of the salmon. Stir gently so that everything is combined and evenly distributed. Place about 4-5 sheets of phyllo dough on the top, its ok if it tears or crumples in areas. Arrange it in a pretty pattern or just scatter the sheets on top. Bake in the oven for about 25 minutes at 375 or until the dough has nicely browned on the top and the sauce is bubbling underneath. Serve in a bowl with a spoon and enjoy : )
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