Power Puff Pastry - Green Curry Seafood Pie and Unexpected Cheese Sticks

Fresh out of the oven - can you smell it like I can?

I wanted to try out my new ramekins - my mother found them in Daisu and bought 2 for me. They were around 15 cm, as stated on the instruction sticker. At $2 each, it was proof that good things sometimes come from unexpected places, at unexpected prices too!

What can I make with these unexpected dishes? Crème brulée? Steak and kidney pie? Lasagna? I'd read about the Laksa Fisherman's Pie that was on the menu of a local restaurant but had never tried it. Maybe I could make something similar... like a green curry seafood pie!


Green Curry Seafood Pie - serves 2

Ingredients

200g of white fish, cut into 1 cm chunks (I used red snapper in this case

200g of prawns, shelled

1 medium sized aubergine, cut into small chunks

1 cup of green peas

1 small shallot, diced

1 tablespoon of ready-made green curry paste

150ml of coconut cream

A few leaves of Thai basil

Cooking oil

Puff pastry, ready made

1 egg, beaten

Preparation time: 10 mins for the filling
Cooking time: 40 mins
Level of difficulty: Easy peasy

Prepare the puff pastry and preheat the oven to the temperature according to the instructions in the pack.

On low heat, fry the shallot and the curry paste with oil, taking care not to burn the paste. When the onions are soft, add the aubergines. Optional: add 1 or 2 tablespoons of water if it is too dry. Increase to medium heat. When the aubergines are starting to soften, add the peas and the fish. Finally, add the prawns with the basil.


When the ingredients are cooked, lower the heat and slowly stir in the coconut cream. When the coconut cream is mixed with the green curry paste, scope the green curry into the ramekin. Cut a piece of the puff pastry, same size or slightly bigger than the ramekin, and cover the top of the ramekin. Brush with beaten egg and place in the oven for 20 mins or according to the puff pastry instructions.


Looking at the leftover pastry still stretched out on the kitchen table, I thought that it would be a huge waste to throw it out. I raided the fridge for anything inspiring that I could use to make snack sticks with. Some forgotten grated Parmesan - perfect! Sesame cream and sesame seeds would be great too. Or sliced almonds, for that matter.

Green curry pot pie aside, I also made these cheese sticks.

Unexpectably gooooooood...

Unexpected Cheese Sticks

Ingredients
Puff pastry - cut up in rectangles approximately 5cm by 10cm
Grated Parmesan cheese - handful
1 egg, beaten
Olive oil

Preparation time: 10 mins (assuming that you are using leftover puff pastry)
Cooking time: 20 mins
Level of difficulty: Easy peasy

Preheat the oven to the temperature as specified by the puff pastry instructions.

Sprinkled the cheese on top of the pastry, and roll them up by the longer end to get a 10 cm long stick. Moisten the outside of the stick with egg. Twist the stick while pulling it to obtain a long twisted stick around 20cm long. Repeat for the rest of the rectangular puff pastries.

Place the twisted sticks on a baking tray that has been greased with oil, leaving some space between each stick. Bake for 20 mins or until golden brown.


These cheese sticks taste amazingly good, even better than those we find in supermarkets! I'm even more satisfied with the cheese sticks than the green curry seafood pie. Like finding a good ramekin dish for $2, it was 100% unexpected!