Kia Ora Moana New Zealand. There is nothing better than receiving sustainably harvested ocean fresh snapper and pāua in the mail! What a glorious treat.

This creamy, rich and deeply satisfying pie is our Ironclad spin on a traditional smoked fish pie. The perfect change of season celebration dish to warm the puku’s and hearts of the people you love.

Pāua is a sweet and salty, rich and buttery sweet gift from the sea. Horopito is a peppery, earthy and spicy indigenous herb and Aotearoa’s very own gift to your spice rack. With an almost Szechuan pepper like quality, it adds a delicious warmth to the creamed leek and pāua sauce. And to top it all off? Moist hunks of snapper and smoked orange Kūmara! 

There’s something about smoked food that I can’t get enough of. And when you bite into this kūmara you too will understand what I mean. Make the effort, light up that smoker and smell, then taste the glory. You’ll be addicted too.

Let your fingers do the talking and order the pāua and snapper online at https://shop.moana.co.nz and horopito from https://www.rhayne.co.nz/collections/rhayne-nz-owned-products

THE CREAM SAUCE

200 g Moana minced pāua
600 g Moana snapper
2 T butter
1 T olive oil
1 leek sliced finely
4 large cloves garlic
3 large shallots finely sliced
3 bay leaves
3 anchovy fillets
2 t dried horopito
1 c white wine
3 T flour or cornflour
300 ml cream
½ t salt or more if you like it salty
Large handful of fresh oregano and more to garnish
250 g pre rolled short crust or puff pastry

THE SMOKED Kūmara

3 large orange kūmara
2 T olive oil
Salt to taste

Method

First up smoke the kūmara. You’ll partially roast them first so that the smoke can more easily penetrate the flesh. Peel them and slice into long quarters. Toss with olive oil and salt and roast for 10 minutes at 200°C, until just starting to get soft. Don’t overcook.  

Get your smoker ready and smoke the kūmara for 10-15 minutes till nicely smoked. Set aside.

In your Ironclad Pan, sauté leeks, garlic, shallots and bay leaves over low heat in butter and olive oil. Stir frequently. It will take 10 -15 minutes for the leeks to soften. Add the horopito and anchovies and sauté for a further minute.

Turn up the heat and pour in the wine and let it boil off for about a minute, turn the heat down and add the flour and mix till well combined. Pour in the cream and let simmer for a further minute. 

Add the minced pāua and oregano to the cream sauce and season to taste. (The pāua is quite salty) You don’t need to cook the pāua off now as it will cook in the oven as the pie bakes. ** if you want to double the amount of pāua do, the sauce will be less cream - y and more pāua – y.

Remove any moisture from the snapper fillets with a paper towel and nestle them on top of the creamy pāua sauce. Season lightly with salt.

And finish with a layer of smoked kūmara.

Cut the pastry into 10 x 1.5 cm strips and lattice the top of the pie.

Brush the pastry with egg yolk and bake for 20 -25 at 180°C.

Garnish with fresh oregano.

I served this pie hot to the table with a coleslaw of red cabbage, radish and raw beetroot. It was a perfectly crunchy purple pairing!

And now? Give thanks. For everything.