How To Make Mediterranean Shrimp and Calamari Pie

This recipe for this exquisite shrimp and calamari pie includes a splendid panoply of herbs, vegetables and non-hot spices. The spices are better if green-fresh. It also includes a white roux based on half-and-half cream spiked with garlic powder. Ideally for dinner, and accompanied with spinach salad and Rhine wine.

Ingredients:
Seafood

• ¾ pound of large prawns, shelled, de-veined, sliced longwise
• ½ pound of clean squid tubes, diced in 1 sq. cm pieces

Herbs & Vegetables Sweat

• 6 fresh basil leaves, minced
• ½ cup capers
• 6 fresh cilantro leaves, minced
• 1 minced clove garlic, minced
• 1 cup leek, minced
• 6 fresh mint leaves, minced
• 8 fresh mushrooms, minced
• ¼ cup fresh onion, minced
• 6 fresh oregano leaves, minced
• ½ cup sweet peas
• ¼ red pepper, diced
• 1 small potato, diced into 1 cm/side pieces
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp butter
• 1/3 tsp salt or to taste

White Roux

• 1 cup half-and-a-half cream
• 2 tbsp butter
• 3 tbsp wheat white flour
• 1/3 tsp salt or to taste
• 1/3 tsp garlic powder

Pie Proper

• 1 pie crust
• 1 egg, battered to uniform liquid
• ¼ cup mozzarella cheese, slices
• ¼ cup parmesan cheese, grated

Directions:
Herbs & Vegetables Sweat and Seafood

1. Put all herbs and vegetables sweat ingredients in frying pan and sweat by eye.

2. Add seafood and fry until shrimp are cooked.

White Roux

1. Melt butter in pot

2. Gradually add flower while stirring until becoming a uniform, lumpless paste.
3. Gradually add Half-and-a-Half while stirring until becoming a uniform cream.

Pie Proper

1. Decant the herbs & vegetables sweat and seafood into pie mold.

2. Decant white roux uniformly on top of herbs & vegetables.
3. Spread uniformly Mozzarella cheese on top of roux.
4. Spread uniformly Parmesan cheese on top Mozzarella cheese and roux.
5. Cover with pie crust.
6. Mend any crust crevices by brushing crevice edges with egg batter and overlapping them.
7. Brush inner rim of crust and rim of mold to seal crust. This step must be done; otherwise, the contents of pie will surge and spill out.
8. Poke the pie 4 times at different places with cooking knife to let steam vent out.
9. Bake on preheated oven at 350o F for about 25 minutes or until crust gets golden colored.