Lampuki pie

Ingredients

Fish

• 1 kglampuki
• dorado or mahi-mahi
• cut into steaks
• plain flour, for dusting
• olive oil, for frying
• salt and black pepper

The filling

• 500 gspinach, chopped
• 2onions, chopped
• 4garlic cloves, crushed
• 3tomatoes, chopped
• 2 tablespoonstomato purée
• 100 gblack olives, stoned
• 3 tablespoonscapers, rinsed
• 1cauliflower, in small florets
• 150 gpeas
• a handful of parsley
• 2 tablespoonschopped mint
• 4 tablespoonsolive oil
• 1 teaspoonmixed spice, optional

Pastry

• 600 gshortcrust pastry
• or puff pastry
• 1beaten egg, to glaze

To serve

• warm or at room temperature
• a green salad
• Maltese bread
• in autumn

Directions

1. Soak them if they are heavily salted. Taste one of them to judge it. Cut the lampuki into thick steaks. Season them with salt and black pepper. Dust them all lightly with flour. Shake off all of the excess flour. Heat olive oil in a wide heavy pan.
2. Fry the steaks for about three minutes a side. They should be golden and just cooked. Lift them out onto a warm plate. Do not cook them right through here. Let the fish cool enough to handle. Lift all the flesh off the bones. Discard the skin and the bones.
3. Check very carefully for stray bones. Break it up into large flakes. Heat the olive oil in a large pan. Add the chopped onions to the pan. Cook them for a good ten minutes. Add the crushed garlic to them. Cook it for one more full minute. Add the chopped tomatoes to the pan. Add the tomato purée with them. Cook them down for about eight minutes. The tomato must cook right down.
4. Cook it until it is thick and jammy. Add the cauliflower florets to it. Cook them for about five minutes. Add the chopped spinach in handfuls. Let it all wilt down completely. Add the peas into the pan as well. That water must cook away entirely.
5. Keep the pan uncovered as it wilts. Turn the heat up to drive it off. Tip the filling into a colander if it is wet. Press it gently down to drain it. A wet filling ruins the pastry base. Add the olives and rinsed capers. Add the parsley and the mint to it. Add the mixed spice if using it.
6. Season it with salt and black pepper. Let it cool right down completely. Warm filling melts the pastry. Let it cool right down before assembling. Roll out two thirds of the pastry. Line a deep pie dish out with it. Leave an overhang all the way round. Spread half the filling in the base. Lay the fish flakes over that. Spread the rest of the filling on top. Layering keeps the fish in the middle.
7. Roll out the remaining pastry. Lay it out over the whole filling. Bring the overhang up over it. Press the edges firmly together. Crimp them with a fork or by hand. Steam builds inside as it bakes. Press the edge very firmly indeed. Cut two or three slits in the lid. Brush the lid with beaten egg.
8. Heat the oven to two hundred degrees. Bake it for about fifteen minutes. Bake it for another forty minutes. Judging it takes a careful look. Let it stand for twenty minutes. Cutting it hot makes it fall apart. Cut it into generous thick wedges. Serve a green salad alongside. It is not usually served piping hot.

Technique

• Kannizzati are rafts of palm fronds floated and anchored offshore that cast a shade on open water; small fish gather under it first and larger fish follow to feed, building a whole community that the fishermen net around. Positions are allocated by lot in a long established Maltese system.
• The fish is fried before it goes into the pie, which firms it, gives it flavour and drives off moisture that would otherwise make the pie watery; do not cook it right through at that stage, since it finishes cooking inside the pastry.
• Spinach releases a great deal of water that must cook away entirely, so keep the pan uncovered and turn the heat up to drive it off, and drain the filling in a colander if it is still wet; a wet filling ruins the pastry base.

Substitutions

• Any firm white fish stands in for lampuki out of season.
• Puff pastry is used in place of shortcrust in some versions.

Variations

• Some cooks add a little mixed spice and others keep it plain.
• The vegetables vary with what is in season alongside the fish.
• It is eaten warm or at room temperature rather than piping hot.

History

Made from dorado caught between August and December, when Maltese fishermen set kannizzati, palm-frond rafts that attract the fish.

Frequently asked questions

What is Lampuki pie?

Lampuki pie is a main from Malta: autumn dorado fish pie with spinach, capers, olives. Made from dorado caught between August and December, when Maltese fishermen set kannizzati, palm-frond rafts that attract the fish.

How long does Lampuki pie take to make?

Lampuki pie takes 1 hour of preparation and 1 hour of cooking. The recipe makes one pie, serves 6. It is rated hard to make.

What can I substitute in Lampuki pie?

Yes, within limits. Any firm white fish stands in for lampuki out of season. Puff pastry is used in place of shortcrust in some versions.

What is the most important thing to get right in Lampuki pie?

Fry the steaks for about three minutes a side. They should be golden and just cooked. Lift them out onto a warm plate. Do not cook them right through here. Let the fish cool enough to handle. Lift all the flesh off the bones. Discard the skin and the bones.