My original plan for this Pastry Flounder was to suggest it as a possible Christmas Eve dinner, perhaps as one of the multitude of dishes served for the Feast of Seven Fishes. But then I saw that today is the beginning of Hanukkah. I am not Jewish, so I don’t know how Kosher this recipe is, but it sure is festive.
As a Catholic, I have a great deal of love and respect for the Jewish People. Any one who believes in Jesus must realize just how important the Jewish People are. After all, Christ was a Jew. I know that there are those who would argue that Jesus died at the hands of the Jews. They would be wrong. If you believe in Christ, then you know that His sacrifice for all of the human race, for everyone. His was a necessary sacrifice to bring us closer to God, and to show us that giving of ourselves is the reason we are here. It’s unconditional love. As parents, we know well unconditional love.
Speaking of love, this beautiful presentation radiates with love. For it takes a lot of love in the kitchen to make a dish like this.
Happy Hanukkah!
Puff Pastry Stuffed Flounder
1/4 cup butter
1 cup White Onion, finely chopped
1 cup Celery, minced
2 tablespoon Parsley, fresh chopped
8 oz Crabmeat
8 oz raw Shrimp, minced
1/4 cup Vermouth
Salt to taste
Black Pepper to taste
1/4 teaspoon Hot Pepper Sauce
1/2 cup Breadcrumbs, approximately
1 package Puff Pastry sheets, thawed
2 lbs Flounder Fillets
2 Egg Yolks, beated
To make the stuffing for the pastry: Melt butter in a large saucepan over a medium-low heat. Chop the onion, mince the celery and chop the parsley.
Sauté onion, celery, and parsley until all of the vegetables are just tender.
While the vegetables are cooking, pick over the crabmeat for any shells. Set aside. Rinse, peel and devein the shrimp. Finely mince the shrimp, then set aside. Once the vegetables are tender, mix in crabmeat, shrimp, and vermouth. Season with salt, pepper and hot pepper sauce; cook until shrimp is cooked through and pink in color. Remove from heat.
Mix in breadcrumbs, a little at a time, until the mixture holds together well. Taste and add hot pepper sauce along with any salt and pepper if necessary. Set this mixture aside to let it cool.
Spray a rimmed baking sheet with non-stick cooking spray.
Roll 1 sheet of puff pastry onto a flat surface. The puff pastry, once rolled should be about 1/3 to 1/4 inch thick and large enough for you to lay the fish on top of it with puff pastry remaining on the sides. Lay one of the fish fillets on top of the puff pastry. Spread the stuffing mixture evenly over the fish fillet. Place the remaining fillet over the stuffing. Trim the pastry around the filets in roughly the shape of a fish. Save the trimmings.
Roll second sheet of puff pastry out to about 1/3 to 1/4 inch thick. Drape second sheet over stuffed fillets, making sure that there is enough of the top sheet to tuck under the bottom sheet of puff pastry. Trim the top sheet of pastry about 1/2 inch larger than the bottom sheet. Brush underside of top pastry sheet with water and tuck under bottom sheet of puff pastry pressing lightly to totally encase the fish and stuffing package. Place the sealed packet on the prepared baking sheet, and let it cool for 10 to 15 minutes.
While packet is chilling, roll out pastry scraps. From the scraps cut out fins, an eye and ‘lips’. Attach cut-outs to chilled package with a little water. Use an inverted teaspoon to make indentations in puff pastry to resemble fish scales but do not puncture pastry. Chill entire package.
Heat oven to 425 degrees.
Remove the fish from the refrigerator and brush the package with the egg yolks. Measure the thickness of the package at its thickest part. Bake for 15 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 350 degrees and bake the fish for 10 extra minutes per inch of measured thickness. Test for doneness by inserting a thermometer into the package, when the temperature reaches 140 degrees the fish is finished cooking.
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