Three-Fish Roast (Pescatarian Festive Recipe) (2024)

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Pescatarians rejoice! This Three-Fish Roast is the most magnificent Pescatarian Christmas centrepiece you’ll come across! Even more impressive looking than the Russian Coulibiac I posted many, many years ago.

Estimated reading time: 7 minutes

What is a Three-Fish Roast?

You know how a 3-bird roast is a bird in a bird, in a bird? So a three-fish roast uses the same principle, just assembled slightly differently. It’s more of a top and bottom thing.

So I’ve got 2 large salmon sides filled with smoked haddock and prawns (shrimps), tied together.

My late husband was a huge fan of Flipboard. Every now and then, he’d come across a food photo that he liked and would show it to me.

I must admit many of them were a little out there, and not really something that appealed to me. He loved the wow factor, like milkshakes with mini burgers, bacon, olives, etc on a stick. Yeah.

But the two-fish fish roast that he showed me sometime in 2013 or ’14 was definitely one of the best ideas he came across. As soon as I saw the image for that two-fish roast, I knew exactly how I was going to do it!

Three-Fish Roast Recipe

For a start, I wasn’t going to stop at 2. I mean why do 2 when you can do 3? Right?

When I saw the image on Flipboard, I immediately thought about coulibiac and our traditional fish pie and how I could work those two to create our three-fish roast.

Coulibiac is a fish pie too but encased in puff pastry – perfect for Christmas. Click here for the recipe or on the image below.

It only took minutes for me to settle on the filling for our pescatarian roast. This is what my very first three-fish roast contained, and what I’m doing today:

• salmon (top and bottom)
• smoked haddock (from the traditional fish pie we make)
• prawns (to get a 3rd “fish” in)
• boiled eggs (from coulibiac)

Then it’s just a case of assembling and roasting it.

The result is a richly flavoured fish roast that is full of contrasting flavours and textures. Meaty, smoky, creamy, tart and herby, and so deliciously fishy, of course! Good fishy!

Three-Fish Roast for Christmas or Easter

I’ve made this so often over the years, for us, for friends, in classes and definitely for customers. So can you imagine the different permutations I’ve tried? Some were definitely clear winners in terms of flavour and look. Like today’s, my “prototype”, so to speak.

Before my kids went vegetarian, they loved salmon. But because my girls are allergic to eggs, I’ve made this three-fish roast often without eggs too. I must admit, the eggs add a lovely dimension to this Pescatarian festive recipe, so use them if you can.

You can use any fish you like, and any seafood. Again, the smoked fish plays a part in the final flavour. But if you don’t like smoked fish, leave it out, by all means.

Don’t want a large Salmon Roast?

Just use fillets, as many of my readers have done. They won’t be able to take as much filling, but you will still be able to do it, just remember you must still tie the fillets together.

You could get your fish monger to cut you 2 wide fillets, just enough for 2, 3 or 4, however many people you are feeding in these Covid times. Don’t forget that you will need 2 fillets, for top and bottom.

And if that’s too much for 1 serving, cut the filled, roasted fillets in half, then serve.

Pescatarian Roast – Different Ways

You can change up our three-fish roast in different ways:

• use any kind of fish you like, as mentioned above.
• you can change the herbs from what I’ve got today. Dill is a common herb with fish, but I don’t really like the stuff.
• size of the fish can definitely be changed – use fillets or even whole, smaller fish.
• rather obviously, you can turn this into a two-fish roast. Four-fish roast? Why not, but just go easy on the filling as the more you fill, the higher the risk of it spilling out.
• change the flavour of this pescatarian roast, see below.

Change the flavour of this Fish Roast

Over the years, I’ve given many flavour variations to this three-fish roast, and have also made it spicy on a few occasions. Here are some suggestions:

• Indian Style is one of my favourites. All you need to do is use some Indian spices and yoghurt instead of the crème fraîche I’m using here. So think turmeric, coriander and cumin, and a touch of garam masala. Shall I do a post on that?
• Make it spicy! For all of you who love your Scoville scale😉, you’re going to like it spicy. Add any form of chilli (pepper) to the recipe, whether you are spicing up that crème fraîche base with chilli pastes, or adding sliced chillies to the recipe itself.
  I’ve used the following very successfully.

How to serve this Stuffed Salmon Roast?

I think it all rather depends on when you are serving it, what the occasion is, and where in the world you happen to be living in.

So if I were making this for Christmas, I’d have it with the usual suspects:

• roast potatoes (any potato recipe would be good)
• brussels sprouts
• carrots

However, I wouldn’t serve it with a standard gravy. Instead, I’d make a lemon-butter sauce to go with it. I’ve given you an easy one in the recipe card below.

If it’s for Easter, I’ll keep the butter sauce and swap the sprouts for in-season asparagus and some green beans.

I’ve made this for Chinese New Year for clients too, with Chinese flavourings, and it was served with noodles and Chinese style vegetables. Oh boy, a whole new recipe beckons! Flavour-wise, along the lines of:

Are you having a Pescatarian Christmas? Or Pescatarian Easter?

Let me know with a comment below. I would love to know what your favourite Pescatarian festive recipes are, and what you are planning to do this Christmas. Or Thanksgiving, if you celebrate.

What do you think of today’s Three-Fish Roast? Fancy trying it? Well then, let’s go get our aprons on!

Images by LinsFoodies

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And if you make the recipe, share it on any platform and tag me@azlinbloor,and hashtag it #linsfood

Lin xx