Norwegian fish pie is a fairly simple and easy dish to make and it is a super way to use leftover fish. The Norwegian fish pie is basically a white sauce, mixed with whipped egg whites. Fish together with other ingredients are added and topped off with bread crumbs. The crispy top and the soft pie texture is a satisfying combination.
If your kids tend to not be too fond of fish or white fish, in particular, we urge you to try this dish. experience tells that many kids (and grownups) that normally do not like fish. Can accept the Norwegian fish pie.
The traditional Norwegian Fish pie also requires a bit of nutmeg to the sauce.
The withe sauce
The withe sauce is the foundation of the dish and it is thickened with flour and butter. It is important not to let the butter brown in this recipe as this will leave you with a more off white sauce. The traditional Norwegian Fish pie also requires a bit of nutmeg to the sauce. We simply love this element of the fish pie and think it brings out a fine contrast. It is also important to add the appropriate amount of salt to your sauce because we want to avoid mixing after the eggwhites are added. We tend to make the white sauce a touch on the salty side. Because it will be diluted after mixing in the other ingredients.
Other ingredients
Macaroni is a great element in the dish and it provides soft texture. We prep boil this 2-3 minutes taking into account that the dish will bake for a long time in the oven. If you want to make this dish a bit healthier you can, of course, substitute normal macaroni for whole grain.
Our favorite vegetable to add to the fish pie is leek. We find this subtle onion flavor not to be too dominant and it adds both soft flavor and nutritional value to the dish. You can also go fro green peas as another option.
As for the types of fish to use, we normally stick to white fish for this dish but you can, off course, try salmon or trout as well. Cod normally gives a subtle fish flavor. If you are looking for a more pronounced fish flavor you could opt for ling, pollock, or coalfish. If you are a bit on the wild side we also urge you to try dry salted cod. This is a great version and we will definitely have a post for that down the line.
Side dishes for Fish pie
In Norway, this dish usually comes with boiled carrots and potatoes, together with an egg butter sauce. You can easily make this by, melting 150 gr of butter, and add two whole hardboiled eggs, chopped up into small dices.
Norwegian Fish pie
Equipment
- standing mixer
- Mixing bowl
- spatula
- Wisk
- Kettle
- Heatproof pan for baking
Ingredients
White sauce
- 4 tbsp butter
- 4 tbsp flour
- 8 dl milk
- 1 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1 tsp Salt
Other ingredients
- 400 gr Whitefish cod, pollock (pre-boiled)
- 1 leek (Chopped in thin slices)
- 200 gr macaroni (pre-boiled for 2 minutes)
- 6 large eggs
- 300 gr breadcrumbs
Instructions
White sauce
- Start by melting the butter on low heat until fully melted
- Add flour and mix togeather with a wisk
- Turn up to medium heat
- Start adding milk in small portions at the time continuously whisking keeping the sauce even consistency
- After all the milk is added bring the sauce to a slow boil
- Let the sauce boil for 5 minutes, while continuously stirring to avoid burning
- Take the sauce off the heat and add nutmeg and salt to taste (see text above)
- Leave the sauce to cool while preparing the other ingredients
Other ingredients
- Set the oven to 200 degrees Celcius, no fan
- Boil macaroni for 2 minutes
- Strain and leave to cool
- Separate the fish into smaller bite-sized pieces, using your hands
- Divide the eggs
- Add the yolks to the withe sauce one at the time while stirring
- Wisk the egg whites to a meringue consistency
- Add white sauce to a bowl, mix in macaroni, then leek and finally fish using a spatula
- Finally, fold in the whipped egg whites carefully. Don't overmix and don't be afraid of the mix containing some egg whites that are not completely mixed
- Pour the whole batter into a buttered heatproof pan and top it off with bread crumbs
- Bake for 50 minutes
If you have leftover hard bread, it is perfect to use it for this dish. Just chop it up and puls it in a blender to make bread crumbs. If you haven’t already tried it you should also check out our salmon in a hammock dish. And as always leave us a comment or connect with us on social media, if you have any questions.
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