Work Text:
March of the Elders - Pi(e)
Recipe for low Fodmap Salmon Pie
as seen in Baldur’s Gate 3
“The fluffy crust emits a cloud of delectable-smelling steam when broken open.”
According to Larian, this pie counts for 20 rations. Personally, I’d serve it to 6-12 people, depending on if those people have an appetite like Karlach or one like Astarion, and if you’re serving it as a meal or as a snack. Either way, it’s very tasty. If you’re more inclined to eat while fighting off Mind Flayers, Goblins, or maybe even the Steel Watch, you might want to make them as hand pies instead!
Pie crust:
I used pre-made gluten free puff pastry. If you need to eat low-fodmap, make sure the ingredients of your puff-pastry are suitable! I placed the little squares over my baking dish (I used a 17x13 cm rectangular one) to guess how much I needed. Different brands have different sized pieces in the packaging, so it is difficult to put a measurable weight to this. I used Consenza brand and needed more than 1 box.
I made sure I would have enough to cover the bottom, sides and top of the dish. Then I let the little squares thaw on the countertop. After thawing, I kneaded the dough together and rolled it out. In my experience, it will behave as pie crust rather than puff pastry when you do so.
I took approximately a third of the dough and set it aside for the top, then rolled out the rest for the sides and bottom.
The fish and slits in the top were cut out by hand.
Alternatively, and possibly cheaper, use your favourite recipe for pie crust.
Mashed potatoes:
Ingredients:
- 550 g of potatoes, in small chunks
- 25 ml of strong garlic oil
- 3-4 spring onions, green bits only, cut into thin rings
- 100 ml lactose free whipping cream
- 300 g of potato wedges, skin on (or off, if you don’t like the texture)
Instructions:
- Boil the potato chunks for 10 minutes until cooked. Drain and let them steam off the excess water.
- In the meantime, roast the potato wedges. I microwaved mine for 2 minutes, then air fried them on a Roast setting at 180 °C for 10 minutes.
- Add 20 ml of the garlic oil and all the spring onions to the potatoes, and mash them.
- Heat up the whipping cream. Don’t let it boil. Add it into the mashed potatoes in increments, incorporating the milk into the mash before adding more. Work quickly so no skin will form as the cream cools.
- Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Pie filling:
Ingredients:
- 600 grams of the mashed potatoes
- 200 grams of leeks, finely sliced, green bits only.
- 350 g of salmon fillet
- 60-110 ml of water
- 1-2 tablespoons of fresh or dried dill
Instructions:
- In a skillet, add the rest of the garlic oil and fry off the leeks until soft.
- Push the leeks to the side so your salmon fillet fits in the middle. If you have a fillet with skin, put the skin side down. Season with salt and pepper, then move the leeks around and on top of the fillet. Add the water to the pan, and let the salmon steam until cooked. Approximately 5 minutes.
- If you have a fillet with skin, remove the skin and start mashing the salmon into small chunks, mixing with the leeks.
- Mix the potato mash with the dill, leeks and salmon. Try a bite and season to taste.
Assembly:
Depending on the dough you use (check the recipe or packaging) you might want to use a higher or lower temperature. In my experience, using a lower temperature and a little more time works best for gluten-free doughs. I pre-heated the oven to 190 °C
Grease the baking dish (i used more garlic oil) and roll out the dough so it will fit the bottom and sides of your dish.
Blind bake for 15 minutes. Pricking a few fork holes in the bottom speeds up the process.
Fill the pie bottom with the filling, then top with the top layer. Be careful not to deform the fish you cut out of the top. Press the sides of the top to the bottom, or squeeze between the bottom and the baking dish. The dish is HOT so make sure you wear proper protection! You can give the top an egg or milk-wash to help the browning process.
Keep an eye on your pie. Mine appeared done after 30 minutes, but while using a glass dish means you can see just how far your baking is done, it also meant the heat hadn’t penetrated to the bottom as much as I liked (insert “heh heh” in Astarion’s hand here. Gale is mortified that he wrote in his cookbook), so I let the pie cool a little bit, then tipped it out of the dish and baked it for another 10 minutes bottom side up.
Now to enjoy your hard work! Bon Appetit!
Gale Dekarios wishes you many happy Pi(e) days, this and any other year!
