Pike pie is a dish loved by many nations. It is served in restaurants, eateries and cafes all over the world. This fish has an expressive taste that goes well with many other products. This opens up great opportunities for culinary experiments.
Pike in Russian cuisine
In Russia, pike was very respected. In addition to the undeniable culinary value, this fish was endowed with other qualities, which is why in the old days there were many signs, sayings and tales of the pike.
Dishes from it are usually attributed to a rich festive cuisine. Pike pie was considered a worthy treat for the highest state tables.
Fish preparation
Before we get to work, let's get into fish. Even if you are lucky enough to buy a fillet cut from a ridge, you still have to tinker with it. Pike meat contains a large number of bones. Fortunately, they are all quite large and tough, making them easy to remove. Arm yourself with a fork and a sharp knife - so the work will go faster. But if you plan to cook stuffing for the pie, you can not bother with the bones. Just cut the fillet, roll it through the meat grinder and all the bones will remain on the screw. Unfortunately, such a focus can only be turned with a pike.
To get rid of the smell of mucus characteristic of this type of fish, soak the slices in milk for an hour, salting and adding pepper. Then the pike pie will be fragrant, and all odors will evaporate.
Jellied cake
Among the variety of recipes, jellied pies take pride of place. They are tender, the filling is steamed well. Jellied fish pie with pike can be prepared according to the following recipe.
Pour a glass of sour cream into a bowl, add a couple of eggs and beat. Add a glass of flour in portions. Salt at the very end, add soda (a pinch). To make the dough elastic, add 2-3 tablespoons of odorless sunflower oil.
Pour half the dough into a greased form. Distribute the filling (raw pike meat) and fill with the other half. If you like crisp, generously sprinkle the top with grated cheese. Gouda, Russian and other hard cheeses will do. Bake until dry with a toothpick in a preheated oven.
Puff pastry pie
It happens that there is absolutely no time for cooking, and a tasty and satisfying dish is urgently needed. Yes, and beautiful.
In this case, the finished dough will help you out. A kilogram of briquette is enough for a cake the size of a baking sheet.
Divide the dough in half. Roll out both halves. First spread a greased baking sheet, spread the filling. Spread a few slices of butter on top of the pike meat. Do not forget to salt. Cover with the other half, connect the edges, make cuts or punctures and send to bake. After 30 minutes the cake will be ready. Before making a pike pie in the oven, do not forget to grease it with strong black tea - this will make the crust golden.
Open pie with pike
It is not necessary to cover the pie with a layer of dough. You can make an open pike pie from the same test. In this case, 200-300 grams of cheese grated on a coarse grater will need to be distributed on top of the fish layer. It is advisable to do this not immediately, but 5-7 minutes before readiness, because cheese needs much less time to cook than raw fish.
Yeast dough fish pie
Pike pie, the recipe of which is based on the use of a magnificent yeast dough, is very satisfying. And also this dough is perfectly molded and you can decorate the cake as you wish. For example, completely mold it in the shape of a large fish.
You need to do the test in advance so that there is enough time for proofing. First we wake up the yeast so that it works as it should. To do this, add 2 cups of warm milk, 1 tbsp. To the bowl. l butter (vegetable or cream), 3 tbsp. l sugar and 2 tbsp. l dry yeast. Having mixed all the ingredients, we add a couple more handfuls of flour - necessarily sifted. Within an hour you will notice a violent reaction and a significant increase in volume.
It's time to do the kneading. On average, you will need about a kilogram of flour. Add it a little sifting. The dough will take exactly as much as needed. Form a cake: rectangular or round in size or shaped. Lubricate the top with yolk and let the cake stand for about an hour. At this time, drafts and loud sounds are unacceptable, otherwise the dough will fall. Bake the cake in a preheated oven to 180 degrees for about 40 minutes.
Pike pie with additional ingredients
You can add not only fish meat to the pie. An excellent accent will be fried onions. Mushrooms also go very well with pike.
If the pie should become the main dish of the feast, it can be made more satisfying with the help of a starch base: potatoes or rice. These components need to be cooked until cooked in advance, because their cooking time is longer than that of raw fish and dough.
In a jellied fish pie, you can add a couple of sliced eggs, a bunch of green onions, a little young dill.