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Hed Chef: Locally-sourced fish pie

Fish pie

Surprise guests with festive fare featuring locally farmed produce.

For this pie, I used locally farmed sea bass and red snapper. I also used endives from Kok Fah and eggs from Seng Choon Farm

All it took was one trip to an NTUC FairPrice outlet near me. When shopping, look out for the country of origin or the Love Homegrown Produce label.

It pays to shop and eat local. Freshness is the goal with the shorter time it takes for produce to go from farm to shelf.

Buying local produce keeps our local farms in business, which in turns supports our economy and improves our food supply resilience.

The Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) works with local farms to promotes consumer awareness of local produce.

It launched the Good Aquaculture Practice for Fish Farming certification scheme in August 2014. The scheme's guidelines provide a benchmark for local production of safe and quality fish.

From January next year, local fish farm Rong-Yao Fisheries is tagging its fish with the brand SG Fish and the Love Home-grown Produce logo.

Another fish farm, Tiberias Harvest, has an online shop (sampancatch.com) and will deliver freshly harvested fish from its farm to your home.

The AVA also has a Singapore  Quality Egg Scheme to ensure local eggs are Grade AA, the best grade for freshness. It has a Good Agricultural Practice certification for vegetable farming too.

With such safety and quality assurances, you have plenty of reasons to start buying and eating local produce.

INGREDIENTS FOR FISH :

  • 1 locally farmed sea bass (850g), filleted
  • 1 locally farmed red snapper (850g) filleted
  • 100g locally farmed endives, sliced into 3cm wide pieces
  • 4 locally farmed eggs, hard boiled and quartered
  • 50g butter
  • 50g plain flour, sifted
  • 14g fresh parsley, chopped 
  • 1/4 tsp dried dill
  • 3 garlic cloves, finely minced
  • 1/4 tsp white pepper (for sauce)
  • 2 tsp salt (for sauce)
  • Dash of pepper (for fish)
  • 2 pinches of salt (for fish)
  • 2 tbsp olive oil

INGREDIENTS FOR MASHED POTATO:

  • 6 potatoes, cut into chunks
  • 20g butter
  • 50g cheese
  • 1/4 tsp salt

INGREDIENTS FOR STOCK

  • Fish bones
  • 1 small carrot, cut into chunks
  • 1 stalk of leek, sliced
  • 1 stalk of celery
  • 1.5 litres of water

METHOD

1. Blanch fish bones, then transfer to a pot with 1.2 litres of water. Add carrot, leek and celery and boil. 


2. Lower heat and boil for 30 minutes, Strain with muslin cloth. Reserve stock and set aside 500ml. Discard fish bones and other boiled ingredients.
3. For sauce, use sturdy saucepan, Over low heat, melt 50g butter and slowly stir in flour. Once it is a paste, add a little fish stock at a time until smooth. Add white pepper and 2 teaspoons of salt. Set aside.
4. Boil water. add potato chunks and boil until tender. Drain and place potato in heat-proof bowl. Add 20g butter and salt . Mash until smooth. Mix in 50g cheese. Set aside.
5. Preheat oven to 180 deg C.
6. Ensure fish fillets are boneless. Slice into bite-sized pieces. Heat olive oil in skillet. Lightly sear the fish. Add garlic, dried dill and chopped parsley. 

 

7. Add endives. Season with 2 pinches of salt and dash of pepper. Turn off heat.

 

 

8. Transfer fish mixture into heat-proof pie dish, leaving space for eggs and mashed potato topping, Arrange hard boiled eggs on top. Cover top with mashed potato, sealing sides.

9. Smooth out potato. You may use a fork to make patterns on top.
10. Bake for 30 minutes or until crust is golden. Serve hot.


PHOTO: TIBERIAS HARVEST

HOW TO TELL IF A FISH IS FRESH?

Owner of local fish farm Tiberias Harvest, Mr Raymond Sng, share four tips:

1. Fish should  feel firm to touch.
2. The muscus covering the fish should be glossy and transparent.
3. The eyes should be clear and bulging.
4. The gills should be bright red.

Source : Tiberias Harvest