The cod pie with short crust pastry and béchamel sauce is a typical dish of Brazilian and Portuguese cuisine. It is made with a variety of vegetables, white sauce and cheese, so that the result is a creamy, soft and delicious fish empanada, which contrasts with the texture of the short crust pastry and combines perfectly.
At this article, we also teach you how to make the short crust pastry so that you have the opportunity to prepare the entire recipe 100% homemade, however, if you don’t have enough time you can always buy it ready-made. Discover how to make a cod pie with short crust pastry! All your guests will love this Portuguese cod empanada because it is really delicious.
Ingredients to make Cod Empanada with short crust pastry:
For the mass:
• 300 grams of wheat flour
• 130 grams of softened butter
• 3 tablespoons of water
• 1 pinch of salt
• 1 yolk to brush
For the filling:
• 600 grams of desalted cod
• 400 grams of mixed vegetables
• 2 tablespoons of butter
• ½ cup grated mozzarella cheese
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 pinch of black pepper
• 1 pinch of salt
For the béchamel:
• 1 milk (300ml)
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1 tablespoon of butter
• 1 pinch of nutmeg
• 1 pinch of black pepper
• 1 pinch of salt
How to make Cod Empanada with short crust pastry:
We start the cod pie recipe by preparing the short crust pastry. To do this, mix the flour with the butter, water and salt in a bowl. Knead with your hands until you get a consistent dough, form a ball, wrap it with plastic wrap and let it rest in the fridge for 20 minutes. While the cod pie dough rests, cook the fish in water with the bay leaf for 15-20 minutes. When it is ready, we remove it, strain it, let it cool down and shred it, removing the skin and bones.
At the same time that we have the cod cooking, we put a frying pan on the fire with the butter. Once melted, add the chopped vegetables, season with salt and pepper, stir and cover. We cook the vegetables with butter for 5-10 minutes. Then remove the lid and cook for another minute, stirring.
After the resting time, remove the dough from the refrigerator and knead lightly again. Reserve 1/3 of the dough and stretch the rest with a rolling pin to cover the bottom and walls of a round mold about 25 cm in diameter. Prick the base with a fork and bake at 180ºC for 10 minutes.
Trick: If you line the mold with baking paper, you will remove the cod pie once it is done more easily.
To finish preparing the filling for the cod pie with short crust pastry, we make the béchamel sauce. Thus, we dissolve the cornstarch in the milk and place it in a pan with the butter. Stir constantly to thicken, for 10 minutes, and season to taste with nutmeg, salt and pepper.
Now we only have to mix the shredded cod with the vegetables, the cheese and the béchamel sauce. Mix the empanada filling well, taste and adjust the flavor with salt and pepper if necessary.
Remove the dough from the oven when the time has passed and let it cool a bit. Then, we pour the filling and distribute it evenly with the help of a spatula or spoon. We take the dough that we had reserved and spread it with the rolling pin until it reaches the same diameter as the mold. Then, we cover the filling with this dough, adjust it and close the empanada. We make some cuts in the center to prevent it from rising during cooking.
Brush the surface of the cod pie with the beaten yolk and bake at 180ºC for 50-60 minutes, or until golden brown, as shown in the photograph. And ready! Now we can enjoy this delicious cod pie with béchamel sauce for dinner or as a starter/appetizer. As we have done the whole process at home, it is a bit more laborious and lengthy, so if you prefer to make a short crust pastry cod empanada faster, you can always buy the dough already made and go directly to preparing the filling.
