salmon pie

okay, stop making that face. think wonderful chicken pot pie, or maybe shepard's pie. good stuff right? okay, so is salmon pie. i was lead to this discovery after reading one of my favorite novels and wondering for the millionth time "what the heck is salmon pie?" turns out it's a fairly traditional brittish dish, and something of a comfort food in canada. while poking around for recipes i found a range from ones as simple as mashed russet potatoes with canned salmon stirred in to delicately flavored layered dishes with long lists of herbs and spices. what i settled on was my favorite oil crust recipe from better homes and gardens, plus a little extra salt and a teaspoon of dried dill. for the filling i've used both canned or fresh salmon, really i could go either way. i prefer the fresh for texture but for price the canned wins out some weeks. i sliced one leek and sauteed it in about two table spoons of butter, and boiled 5 smallish red potatoes, diced in medium sized chunks. this goes in a mixing bowl with the salmon, for fresh about a pound poached in water with salt and a couple of lemon slices then flaked in large chunks, or one 14 oz can. salt and pepper to taste, and sprinkle with dried dill. add about 1 cup thawed frozen peas, if desired. beside the fact that i think canned peas are gross, and have almost no nutritional value, they don't have the constitution for this, they'll go to mush when you stir everything together. fold all the ingredients together until you have an even distribution. in a small sauce pan either reduce 1 cup of half and half or make a small amount of white sauce (roux and milk) you'll need about 3/4 of a cup of sauce, not too thick, to keep everything moist. stir the sauce into the filling, assemble your pie and bake at 400 for about an hour. we serve ours with ketchup, because we're not too proud, and it's tasty.