Edition: Chicago: Straight Up
Chef's Corner: Lobster Bouillabaisse Pot Pie
Author:
Heather Terhune, Executive Chef of Atwood Café/South Water Kitchen shares her recipe for Lobster Bouillabaisse Pot Pie
1 (1- to 1 1/4-lb) live lobster
2 large tomatoes, peeled and coarsely chopped
1 large onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, chopped
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 lb boiling potatoes
1/3 cup finely chopped fresh fennel fronds
1 bay leaf
1/4 teaspoon crumbled saffron threads
11/2 tablespoons coarse salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
9 cups chicken stock or canned chicken broth
1 pound mussels and 1 pound clams
3 lb mixed skinned white fish fillets (such as monkfish, red snapper, striped bass, or cod), cut into 2-inch pieces
For puff pastry shells:
1 puff pastry sheet (from a 17 1/4-ounce packages frozen puff pastry sheets), thawed
an egg wash made by beating 1 large egg with 1 teaspoon water
Preheat oven to 400°F.
On a lightly floured surface roll out 1 pastry sheet 1/8 inch thick (about 15 by 11 inches) and with a 4-inch round cutter cut out 6 rounds. Transfer the rounds to a large baking sheet. Prick rounds on baking sheet with a fork and brush lightly with some egg wash, being careful not to let wash run over edges.
Bake pastry shells in middle of oven until golden, about 9 minutes, and transfer to a rack. Reheat pastry shells in middle of a 400°F. oven until warm before serving.
Make filling:
Plunge lobster headfirst into a 6- to 8-quart pot of boiling water, then cook, covered, 2 minutes from time lobster enters water. Transfer lobster with tongs to a colander and let stand until cool enough to handle. Discard hot water in pot. Put lobster in a shallow baking pan. Twist off claws with knuckles from body, then crack claws with a mallet or rolling pin and separate claws from knuckles. Halve body and tail lengthwise through shell with kitchen shears, then cut crosswise through shell into 2-inch pieces. Reserve lobster juices that accumulate in baking pan.
Cook tomatoes, onion, and garlic in oil in cleaned 6- to 8-quart pot over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until onion is softened, 5 to 7 minutes. Meanwhile, peel potatoes and cut into 1/2-inch cubes. Stir potatoes into tomatoes with fennel fronds, bay leaf, saffron, sea salt, and pepper. Add stock and bring to a boil, then simmer, covered, until potatoes are almost tender, 8 to 10 minutes.
Add thicker pieces of fish to soup and simmer, uncovered, 2 minutes. Stir in remaining fish, clams, mussels and lobster, including juices, and simmer, uncovered, until they are just cooked through, 3 to 5 minutes.
Carefully transfer fish and lobster from pot pie with a slotted spoon, into six serving dishes. Then ladle some broth with vegetables over seafood.
