Fish Baked in Pastry

My husband Rick loves fishing and for his 60th birthday I planned to use the fishing theme. I also told him that I am going to make a surprise dish for him, which he loved, as it was his favorite, Fish Baked in Pastry.

My favorite fish preparation is to brush it down thoroughly with olive oil, sprinkle with dried herbs and/or finely chopped garlic, and wrap it up in pie crust dough. I use steaks for this, with all skin and bones carefully removed. You bake them until the crust is golden, and the baking temperature you use will determine the doneness of the fish. In your case, I would try temperatures between 450 and 475 degrees F. (The hotter the oven, the *less* done the fish will be when the crust is ready.) The pastry shell keeps the meat nice and moist, and it's impressive as hell.

For the dough, I've always just used the "Basic Pie Crust" from the Joy of Cooking--I use it for lots of things, sweet and savory--with maybe a little rosemary, thyme, basil, or dill stirred in with the flour and salt. Just in case you don't have the JOC:

Basic Pie Crust Dough: (all honor and credit to the Joy of Cooking)

2 C flour
2/3 C shortening (can be all butter, half butter/half lard, Crisco, etc.)
~1/2 tsp. salt
~3 T water

Stir together flour and salt with a fork. Use more salt if the filling will be savory and/or if your shortening is unsalted. You can add a little sugar if the filling will be sweet (a couple of tablespoons). Cut half the shortening into the flour, then rub in between your fingers until the mixture has about the texture of cornmeal. Then cut in the remaining shortening, leaving it in roughly pea-sized lumps. (These form the "flakes" when rolled out.) Add just enough cold water to make the dough come together, chill until somewhat stiff, then roll out on a liberally floured board.

This makes enough for a 2-crust 9 inch pie, or two single crust pies, or six entree turnovers, or twelve dessert turnovers.We all loved to see him wearing his fishing costume and he shared the different stories of his fishing trips, of which most were really funny. I forgot to say one thing, he loved the dish that I made for him.