My daughter baked this one while I was at work, so when I came home, it was all done and ready to eat.

As soon as I set foot in the doorway, I was floored. I just could not believe the smell that was emanating from my oven. I tell you, chocolate cake itself has NOTHING on that one. It was UN-BE-LEE-VA-BLE! I thought I had just died and went to heaven. Seriously, I never thought salmon pie could smell THAT good!

I think it has a little bit to do with the crust. This one is now my official alternative to pie crust. The fact that it was my daughter who made it probably helps too… you see, I think she has a special gift when it comes to making pie crust. Hers is always soooo much better, and this time was no exception. I mean, the thing was almost flaky, despite the fact that it contains close to no fat! I don’t know how she does it, but I sure wish she would share her secret! 😉

As for the filling… oh my yum! All those chunks of tender potatoes, and big pieces of salmon, the subtle taste of the cheese, the occasional crunch from the peas and corn, all this brought together by the creaminess of the potatoes that were mashed with buttermilk and plain yogurt. OOOOH! Wow. I’ve never tasted salmon pie that good before. From now on, for me, THIS, is salmon pie. Let’s just say that never again, I will wonder what to do with that leftover salmon!!!

And you know what the best part is? I think even Mr. Shy Salmon realized just how good a dish he had just served in creating, because this time, he accepted to pose proudly for the camera! YAY!!! (although my batteries did die half-way through the shoot and I had to give them a quick charge… did anybody say jinx?)

I chose to serve this with a super quick and easy fennel salad. I shall give you that recipe in a separate post.

 Ingredients
Serves 6

Crust

  • 1 cup spelt flour
  • ¾ cup whole wheat flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 4 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
  • ¾ cup buttermilk
  • 1 egg

Filling

  • 700g (about 6-7) Yukon Gold potatoes, skin on, quartered
  • 500g cooked salmon
  • 1 cup low fat plain yogurt
  • 1 cup buttermilk
  • ½ cup frozen peas
  • ½ cup frozen corn
  • ¼ cup fresh parsley, chopped
  • ½ tsp salt
  • ¼ tsp pepper
  • 100g sharp cheddar cheese, grated

 

Instructions

Crust

  • Whisk flour, baking powder and salt. Whisk oil, milk and egg; pour over flour. Stir to form fairly smooth dough. On floured surface, knead until smooth, 2 minutes. Press into disc; wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

Filling

  • Preheat oven to 375F
  • Cook potatoes in salted boiling water until nice and tender. Drain and transfer them to a large mixing bowl.
  • With a potato masher, give them a quick smash but don’t over do it. You want really chunky mashed potatoes.
  • Add plain yogurt, buttermilk, salt, pepper, parlsey, peas and corn. Stir gently until well combined.
  • Very delicately fold grated cheese and cooked salmon into the potato mixture. You want to have nice big chunks of salmon.

Assembly

  • On floured surface, roll out dough to form a 18 inch disc. Fit into greased (brush with olive oil) 9 inch cast iron skillet, letting excess hang over edge.
  • Mound filling in center; lift pastry up over filling, letting it fall naturally into folds and leaving 2-3 inch opening in the center. Brush dough with egg white, sprinkle with sesame seeds.
  • Bake in bottom third of oven until pastry is golden and filling is steaming, about 45 minutes. Let stand for 10 – 15 minutes before cutting into wedges.