Nigerian fish pie
Nigerian fish pie is filled with fish and vegetables, a complete meal on the go.
Ingredients
- 300 g fish (1 small)
- ¼ cup cubed sweet potato*
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 small onion (1/4 cup, chopped)
- ¼ cup chopped carrot (2 small)
- ¼ teaspoon dry chilli pepper
- ½ teaspoon dry thyme
- 1 seasoning cube
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon flour
- 1 egg
- Easy pie dough
Instructions
- Wash, cut and clean fish. Put in a pot, add some water, season with salt and some sliced onions.
- Place over medium-high heat and boil till fish flakes easily and a fork passes through easily.
- Boil unpeeled sweet potato until a fork passes through. Peel and cut into cubes to get 1/4 cup.
- Chop onions and carrots.
- Pick out the fish and set the fish stock aside. Flake the boiled fish and take some time to pick out the bones, be patient.
- Pour oil into a dry sauce or frying pan and place over medium heat. When hot, add onions and fry until softened.
- Add fish, carrot, potatoes, dry chili pepper, dry thyme and seasoning cube. Stir and fry. Add some of the fish stock, cook until carrot has softened but is not mushy.
- Mix a slurry of 1 teaspoon flour with 2 teaspoons of water. Stir and add to the pie filling, stirring immediately. Cook to thickened. Take off the heat and spread on a plate to completely cool down.
- Line a baking tray with parchment paper, brown paper or aluminium foil. Set aside
- Preheat oven to 180 deg C.
- Crack egg into a small bowl add 1 teaspoon water or a pinch of salt and beat, set aside.
- Roll out the dough into a rectangle of about 1/8" to 1/4" thickness. Cut into rectangles depending on the size you want your pies.
- Place pie filling on half of the rectangle, making sure to leave some space along the edges.
- Fold the empty side of the pastry over the filling to cover it and meet the edge of the other side. Crimp the outer edges by hand or with a fork.
- Place individual pies on the prepared sheet, snipe a hole on the top of the pie or prick with a fork. Brush with egg wash.
- Bake for 30-40 minutes until the dough is golden brown.
- Serve with a drink of your choice, you can try my Zobo drink, Mango Lassi, Healthy beetroot juice, refreshing Afterglow drink, Carrot/orange juice, Chapman or Virgin pina colada.
Notes
- If using the soft orange flesh sweet potato, cut into cubes from raw.
- If using the hardy white or red-skinned sweet potato, boil whole or cut into 2 or 3 pieces depending on the size, when it softens but is not mushy, peel and cut into cubes.
- Irish potatoes can also be used in place of sweet potatoes.
- The pie filling should not be watery at all, if it is, add more flour slurry to thicken it further, this is to avoid it making the pastry soggy.
- Ensure the pie filling is completely cool before filling the pie if it is still warm, it will increase the temperature of the dough, melt the butter and you will end up with a crumbly, oily and soggy pastry.
- Do not use any water releasing vegetables, it will make your pastry soggy.
- The Nigerian fish pie filling can be stored well sealed in a freezer bag or container in the freezer. Reheat it from frozen in the microwave or oven.
- Any excess filling can also be mixed with scrambled eggs or used to fill tortilla wraps or pita bread. It can be used to toss pasta.
