Sole en Croute
Posted: Fri Dec 04, 2015 2:52 pm
This isn't hard and opens up all sorts of variations (salmon, lobster etc). You're going to wrap a packet of fish, vegetables and cheese in puff pastry and bake it. Puff pastry is hard, but as long as you don't care about too many thin flaky layers there is always rough-puff pastry for the cheats in this world.
Rough-Puff Pastry
250g all purpose flour
250g butter approaching room temperature, not soft
1 tsp salt
150ml ice cold water
Mix flour and salt in a cold bowl. Chop butter into little chunks and add to dry ingredients. Work in lightly with fingertips, but leave the butter in visible lumps ie don't work it in as much as you would for shortcrust pastry. We want those lumps of butter to melt during cooking and split apart the layers of pastry, creating the puff effect. Add most of the cold water and mix into a stiff dough, dribbling in some of the remaining water if needed. Wrap the ball of dough in clingfilm and rest in fridge for 20 minutes.
Roll it out into an oblong, rolling in one direction only (we want to smear the butter lumps, not mix them in). Fold into three, like folding a letter to go in an envelope, turn 90º and roll again. Repeat, but don't get carried away. Put it back in the fridge again for 20 minutes. When ready to use, roll out and divide into two; if one piece is slightly larger than the other all to the good.
Build it
Fish of choice - I used six tiny sole fillets. Should be boned and skinned.
1/2 onion chopped small
A cup of wilted spinach or thawed frozen spinach (squeeze well to remove water)
6 chopped morel mushrooms or other fungus
1/2 cup grated cheese
Place the smaller oblong of pastry on a baking sheet. On top of it place the fish, then the mushrooms, onions and spinach, with a sprinkle of cheese as you go along. Try to keep the filling away from the edge and build upwards, but not too high as we want the other piece of pastry to be able to cover it all. Check the size of the second, larger piece of pastry. It might need an extra bit of rolling if it isn't large enough to act as a bedspread over the base and filling. Place it on top and tuck any overlap under the base and pinch them tightly. We want a seal to keep juices in as best as possible. You could also brush the edge of the base with water to aid in joining the lid to the base. Optional extra: you can brush a beaten egg over it all to make it shiny and attractive, and the egg wash will let seeds such as sesame or poppy stick if you fancy prettifying it and adding those flavours.
Bake
Preheat your oven to 400ºF and bake in the middle for 25-40 minutes (check every five minutes after 25 until the top is browned to your liking). Let it stand for a couple of minutes when it comes out as this will make it easier to cut. Serve by cutting into slices and accompany with roast or boiled potatoes and steamed vegetables. This will make four good servings, along with two that are mostly pastry from each end and little of the filling. You know your duty as hosts; go to it.
Chris
Rough-Puff Pastry
250g all purpose flour
250g butter approaching room temperature, not soft
1 tsp salt
150ml ice cold water
Mix flour and salt in a cold bowl. Chop butter into little chunks and add to dry ingredients. Work in lightly with fingertips, but leave the butter in visible lumps ie don't work it in as much as you would for shortcrust pastry. We want those lumps of butter to melt during cooking and split apart the layers of pastry, creating the puff effect. Add most of the cold water and mix into a stiff dough, dribbling in some of the remaining water if needed. Wrap the ball of dough in clingfilm and rest in fridge for 20 minutes.
Roll it out into an oblong, rolling in one direction only (we want to smear the butter lumps, not mix them in). Fold into three, like folding a letter to go in an envelope, turn 90º and roll again. Repeat, but don't get carried away. Put it back in the fridge again for 20 minutes. When ready to use, roll out and divide into two; if one piece is slightly larger than the other all to the good.
Build it
Fish of choice - I used six tiny sole fillets. Should be boned and skinned.
1/2 onion chopped small
A cup of wilted spinach or thawed frozen spinach (squeeze well to remove water)
6 chopped morel mushrooms or other fungus
1/2 cup grated cheese
Place the smaller oblong of pastry on a baking sheet. On top of it place the fish, then the mushrooms, onions and spinach, with a sprinkle of cheese as you go along. Try to keep the filling away from the edge and build upwards, but not too high as we want the other piece of pastry to be able to cover it all. Check the size of the second, larger piece of pastry. It might need an extra bit of rolling if it isn't large enough to act as a bedspread over the base and filling. Place it on top and tuck any overlap under the base and pinch them tightly. We want a seal to keep juices in as best as possible. You could also brush the edge of the base with water to aid in joining the lid to the base. Optional extra: you can brush a beaten egg over it all to make it shiny and attractive, and the egg wash will let seeds such as sesame or poppy stick if you fancy prettifying it and adding those flavours.
Bake
Preheat your oven to 400ºF and bake in the middle for 25-40 minutes (check every five minutes after 25 until the top is browned to your liking). Let it stand for a couple of minutes when it comes out as this will make it easier to cut. Serve by cutting into slices and accompany with roast or boiled potatoes and steamed vegetables. This will make four good servings, along with two that are mostly pastry from each end and little of the filling. You know your duty as hosts; go to it.
Chris