330 – Puff Pastry Fish / معجنات الأسماك

Ingredients :

• Puff Pastry
• 1 carrot
• 1 bunch of fresh spinach
• Olive oil
• Salt and Pepper
• 1 Egg white and 1 egg yolk
• Ingredients for the fish filling:
• 1 pound (450 grams) of white fish filet (with NO bones)
• 1 onion (chopped)
• 1 garlic (crushed)
• 1 red pepper
• 2 tablespoons of finely chopped cilantro (or parsley)
• 2 tablespoons of breadcrumbs
• 1 teaspoon paprika, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1 tablespoon butter

Directions :

Step 1: Preparing the Ingredients for the Fish Filling
1- First, let’s make breadcrumbs. I didn’t have in my pantry so I am making it from scratch. Toast some bread for 10 minutes in the oven until it becomes crunchy. Place it in a food processor and mix until you get a ‘sand like’ mixture. Here we go, we have freshly made breadcrumbs!
2- To roast the pepper, I am using the flame of my burner. Make sure to roast the pepper from all sides for around 10 minutes. Once done, place the pepper in a plastic bag, close and let it sit for 5 minutes. The steam in the bag will help softened the skin of the pepper. Now remove the pepper from the bag, and scrape the skin with a knife. Cut the stem of the pepper and remove all the seeds from inside. Slice the pepper, wipe each slice with a paper towel to make it clean, then dice it into small pieces.

Step 2: Making the Fish Filling
1- Let’s prepare the fish, our main ingredient! I am using white fish filet – make sure that there are NO bones in the fish pieces. It’s very important… you don’t want someone to choke! Place the fish filet in a food processor and mix until you get a smooth paste.
2- In a pan, melt some butter, add the chopped onion, add a pinch of salt, and cook for a few minutes until the onion pieces become translucent.
3- In a bowl, place the fish, add the cooked onion, and the grilled pepper. Mix well. Add the breadcrumbs, chopped parsley and cilantro, and mix. Finally, add salt, pepper, and paprika. Mix.

Step 3: Preparing the rest of the ingredients
1- Peel the carrot and cut it into juliette style (thin medium-length sticks).
2- In a pan, heat some olive oil, put the carrots to cook for a few minutes until they are softer but still crunchy. Season with a little bit of salt and pepper.
3- In a pan, heat some olive oil, and cook the fresh spinach leaves for a few minutes. season with salt and pepper.

Step 4: Making the Puff Pastry Fish
1- Dust some flour on your working stating. Using a rolling pin, roll your puff pastry.
2- Shape the puff pastry into a fish (using a cardboard shape that you made). we need 2 fish shapes (one for the bottom and one for the top).
3- In the first puff pastry shape place a little bit of carrots, top it with the fish filling, and a layer of spinash.
4- Brush the sides of the pastry with egg white.
5- Place the second fish shaped pastry on top. Seal the edges by pressing with your finger tips.
6- Brush the top of the pastry with the egg yolk.
7- Using the tip of a knife, make a design that looks like fish scales. Also, use a pepper corn for the fish eye!
8- Bake in a pre-heated oven (390 F / 200 C) for around 20 minutes or until the puff pastry becomes dark golden brown.
Note: Instead of a fish shape, you can just make little puff pastry pockets with the filling.
Serve hot!