Salmon Pie

We’ve all grown up with traditions from our cultures. Sometimes there’s religion, a story, a historical event behind it and other times, no one’s know where, when or why it became a part of our lives. If I refer to my own culture which is Québécois, our origins are mostly from French settlers with a mix of aboriginals from different tribes along with Irish, English and other European countries. I believe that many of our dishes are from this assortment of different cultures mixed into one recipe… oh boy I can just see right now how “unpopular” my comment can be for some… relax it’s a food blog!!!

Admitting it or not, most countries cannot proclaim that a recipe is entirely theirs because of the crusades. The mix of different countries resulted in interesting flavorful traditions that each wants to claim as their own. Of course I’m not stating that all our national dishes are unjustified and not ours… To summarize there are some “dishes” that can be very hard to track their origin because they’re a combination of a few traditional recipes all together…

Today I’m sharing with you a recipe that apparently originated from Québec… Salmon Pie! The reason why I’m not totally convinced is it’s a combination of two countries that claim its origin… Ireland and Québec. When I was at high school, a boy named Mike (not Michel…) came over to my home. We had a project to do and although we were paired with two other kids, we decided that it would be done faster if we split it in half. My mother was making a salmon pie and with the aroma floating in the air, Mike was intrigued to what was cooking in the oven. When he found out, he proudly said that this is one of his family’s traditional dishes, a great Irish recipe. My mother invited him to stay for dinner. During dinner, he explain that my mothers’ and his family’s dish were quite different from each other. How different could a Salmon Pie be?

Later on when I was living in Toronto, I went to an Irish pub and ordered a Salmon Pie, something I haven’t had for years. I was surprised to see how different it was. It resembled a Pâté Chinois or a Cottage Pie with salmon in it! Then I got it… I realized what that boy was saying about my mom’s salmon pie being unlike his family’s…

Irish or Québec origin, I’m glad that after many years of not making it, I finally brought it back to my menu. It’s a quick and easy dish to put together. David never had it before and he was surprised and happy with the results. My mother served it with a Béchamel Sauce aka White Sauce on top while I’m serving it simply with a side of steamed veggies or a fresh garden salad. For the ones who are not too keen on eating fish, this is a great way to make them eat some without that “fishy” taste. It is a simple recipe and yet quite delicious… give it a try!
Bon Appétit!

 

For ingredient amounts and much more, visit http://clubfoody.com/recipe/salmon-pie/