Fish ‘pie’ with mussels and prawns.

This is a creamy, comforting ‘pie’ with tons of flavour and goodness without the crust.  All LCHF. I used john Dory, mussels and prawns. You can use any firm-fleshed white fish such as snapper, Ling, Mahi Mahi, or Blue Grenadier; the mussels and prawns may easily be excluded and you can add scallops if you wish.  Use the creamy vegetable base and concoct your own flavour combinations. Do not be deterred by the long list of ingredients and instructions; this is a simple straight forward dish.  There are just a few elements in it that can be cooked at the same time.  So do give it a try. You will love it

Serves 4

Preheat the oven to 220℃.

*For the creamy cauliflower cheese topping: cut the cauliflower into florets and place in the steamer; steam until tender, about 8 minutes.  Transfer the cauliflower to the blender or food processor; add all the ingredients and purée until smooth.  Add a little more cream or water if necessary, plus cream cheese if you wish.  Season well with sea salt and cracked pepper.  Set aside and keep warm.

* If you do not want to make this creamy cauliflower topping, you can steam the tiny cauliflower florets or roast them and add them to the pie at the end with the fish, prawns, mussels and spinach.
To cook the mussels: Pour the wine into a large pot and bring to the boil. Add the mussels, cover with the lid, then simmer for 1 – 2 minutes, or until the mussels have opened.  Remove the mussels from the pot as they open.  Set the mussels aside.  Strain the mussel broth through a fine sieve over a clean pot. Set aside to cool. For more detailed instructions, check mussel cleaning and preparation information on the website and below here.
To cook the eggs: have the eggs at room temperature. Place the eggs into a saucepan that is the right size so that they sit comfortably and don’t crash into one another. As an extra precaution, to prevent cracking you can prick the round end of the shell with a pin. Add enough cold water to cover them by about 1cm; bring to the simmer and simmer for 2 minutes; turn the heat off and leave to continue cooking for 10 minutes.  Cool them rapidly under cold running water for about one minute, then leave them in cold water till they are cool enough to handle, about 2 minutes. This rapid cooling helps to prevent dark rings from forming between the yolk and the white.  To peel them crack the shells all over on a hard surface. Then peel the shell off starting at the wide end and use a dessert spoon to get under the shell.  The fresher the eggs the harder they are to peel. Peel and quarter the eggs. Place them into the oven-proof pie dish.
For the filling: steam the spinach in a colander placed over boiling water in the wok. This takes about 2 minutes.   Remove the colander and gently squeeze out all the excess moisture for the spinach. Set aside.
In a frying pan, pour the olive oil, add butter and onions.  Cook over low heat for 10 – 12 minutes until the onions are soft, luscious and translucent; do not brown. Add the carrots and continue to cook for 5 minutes to soften slightly.  Add the double cream and bring to the simmer.
Remove from the heat and add the cheese, lemon juice, mustard and parsley.  Season well with sea salt, freshly cracked pepper and grated nutmeg.
Place the fish, prawns, mussels and spinach into the pie dish over and around the eggs. Pour over the creamy vegetable sauce, leaving some room for the creamed cauliflower.
Spoon the cauliflower over the top and sprinkle with the extra grated cheese.
Place into the oven for 25 – 30 minutes until the fish is cooked and the top is golden.
Scatter with some chopped parsley and serve.  Here I served it with some wok-tossed green beans and broccoli florets.