Of all my favorite childhood food memories, the most favorite of all has to be my mother's Salmon Pie. It's very much a French Canadian thing and is delicious. A two crusted pie filled with a mix of tinned salmon mashed together with grated onion, mashed potato, seasoning and herbs. If this pie was on the menu in our house, everybody was happy! Leftover cooked salmon also works very well.
I can remember when I was just a young Bride newly married, I would bake one if I knew my father was going to be stopping by for lunch. It was a real treat for him. If it wasn't salmon pie it was a toasted bologna and cheese sandwich with mustard and chives. My Uncle Harold used to stop by for glasses of cold cool-aid. Good times!
Today I started to thinking that the salmon filling for the pie would be the perfect filling for a baked potato, and maybe even a bit lower in fat than having a pie, and certainly a bit less trouble because there would be none of the faff of making pastry, rolling it out etc.
The more I thought about it, the more I wanted to try it and so that's just what I did, with really delicious results I hasten to add! These are fabulous!
In order to keep the kitchen cool, I did the initial baking of the potatoes in the Microwave, which worked very well and takes a lot less time. In fact, from start to finish these were done and on the table in less than half an hour which also makes them a quick supper!
I like the boneless, skinless salmon. There is no waste and I don't have to spend ages picking out the skin and bones only to end up with fingers that I can't get the smell of the fish off of. Blecch. I hate that smell and I hate getting a fish bone in my mouth! In any case I was really pleased with the results of my experiment and I think you will be too.
*Salmon Pie Stuffed Baked Potato*Makes 4Printable Recipe
My favorite savoury pie filling stuffed into a potato shell. Scrumptious.
2 large baking potatoes170g tin tin boneless, skinless salmon,
drained and mashed (about 6 ounces)2 spring onions, trimmed and finely chopped2 TBS buttera bit of softened butter for rubbing on the potato skins (optional)2 TBS dairy sour creamsalt and black pepper to taste1/2 tsp summer savory (can use a mix of thyme and marjoram)4 TBS grated cheddar cheese
Wash your baking potatoes and dry very well. Prick all over with a fork. Wrap each in paper towelling and then microwave one at a time on high in the microwave until cooked through and soft. (I had really big potatoes and it took six minutes for each.) Let stand for a few minutes. Cut in half horizontally and scoop out the insides carefully with a teaspoon into a bowl, and leaving the skins intact. Mash the potato pulp together with the butter, sour cream, salmon, spring onions, salt, pepper and summer savoury. Taste and adjust seasoning as required. Divide this mixture between the four potato skins and fill them, fluffing up the tops a bit with the tines of a fork. Place onto a baking tray. Rub the skins with a bit of softened butter if desired. Sprinkle 1 TBS grated cheese on top of each.
Preheat the oven to 200*C/400*F/ gas mark 6. Bake the filled potato skins for about 15 minutes until heated through and the cheese has melted and turned golden. Serve hot with some salad on the side.
A salad on the side and dinner is served! Serves 2 hearty eaters, or 4 small eaters. Bon Appetit!
