Fish pie with leek and chorizo

Place flour, 50g of butter and salt into large mixing bowl. Using your fingers, rub the butter into the flour. Add the water and lemon juice and then form a firm dough with your hands.

Tip out onto a lightly floured surface and then knead for two to three minutes. Form into a ball. Cover with clingfilm and allow to rest for five to ten minutes. On a lightly floured surface, use a rolling pin to roll out the dough to 25cm square, approximately 1 cm thick.

Dice the remaining butter and put 50g of it over the top 2/3 of dough. Fold the bottom third up and the top third down and give it a half turn, so that the folds are now at the sides. Seal the edges by pressing with a rolling pin

Repeat the rolling and folding process until all the butter is used. Wrap the dough in clingfilm and chill for at least 30 minutes before using.

In a large saucepan, heat the oil over a medium heat, then add the
leek and cook until softened. Add the chorizo and fry gently over
a low heat for one to two minutes until the chorizo flavours are released into the pan. Remove the pan from the heat and use a spatula to carefully remove all the leek and chorizo filling onto a plate to cool. Set aside.

Using the same pan, add butter and melt over a very low heat then
add flour. Stir to a paste with a wooden spoon. Slowly add the milk
(a little at a time), stirring, to make a white sauce. Cook over a very
low heat until the sauce is bubbling and free from lumps. Take the sauce off the heat and allow to cool in the pa

Preheat the oven to 200°C (fan 180°C, gas mark 6). Roll out the pastry lid to fit the shape of the pie dish. Put the rolled out pastry on a tray and place in the refrigerator to rest for fifteen to twenty minutes while the sauce continues to cool down. Note, you should have extra pastry left over, which can be frozen and used again.

Add the capers, gherkins, parsley, fish and prawns, as well as the cooled leek and chorizo mixture to the cooled sauce. Stir gently to distribute the ingredients through the sauce. Pour into the pie dish.

Remove the pastry lid from the refrigerator, wet the edges of the
pie dish with water and place the pastry lid on the dish. Press down
firmly on the pastry with your fingertips to seal and, using a sharp
knife, trim off any excess pastry. Using the back of a fork dipped in
flour, press down on the edges to create a crimped pattern.

Roll out the pastry offcuts. Cut out little fish shapes and place on
top of the pie to decorate. Beat the egg with the water and then brush the top of the pastry with the egg wash. Using a small knife, cut two slits in the top to allow steam to escape during baking.

Bake in the oven for twenty to twenty five minutes or until the pastry is crisp and golden-brown in colour.