New England Lobster Pot Pies (Neiman Marcus)

By JeanAnn

This indulgent, free-form pot pie has such an attractive vertical presentation that’s it’s definitely one of those “Wow!” recipes. It is just the thing if you really want to impress your guests, or for celebrating a special event – it’s perfect for New Year’s Eve, for example, or for Valentine’s Day.

Ingredients

• For the lobster broth
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 pound Cooked Lobster Meat (page 274), lobster shells and bodies reserved
• 2 cups chopped onions (1-inch dice)
• 1 cup chopped celery (1-inch dice)
• 1 cup peeled and chopped carrots (1-inch dice)
• 1/4 cup fresh Italian (flat-leaf) parsley stems
• 1 bunch fresh tarragon
• 1/2 bunch fresh thyme
• 3 dried bay leaves
• 1 1/2 teaspoons black peppercorns
• 1/8 teaspoon saffron threads (optional)
• 1/4 cup brandy
• 1/4 cup white wine or vermouth
• 3 large ears corn, kernels cut off and reserved, cobs cut into 2-insh sections
• 3 quarts Neiman Marcus Chicken Broth (page 12) or prepared chicken stock
• For the puff pastry
• 1 sheet frozen puff pastry cut into six 3-inch squares, about 1/8 inch thick
• 1 large egg, beaten
• For the “Pot pie” filling
• 1 cup fresh or frozen peas
• 2 cups fresh corn kernels
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 cup finely diced onion
• 1/2 cup peeled and finely diced carrot
• 1/2 cup finely diced celery
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 3/4 cup finely diced white or yellow potatoes
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh tarragon
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh Italian (flat-leaf) parsley
• 1/4 cut fresh Italian (flat-leaf) parsley sprigs, for garnish

Preparation

Step 1

To prepare the lobster broth, pour the olive oil into a stockpot and set over high heat. Reserving the lobster meat in the refrigerator, rinse and coarsely chop the lobster shells and bodies. Add to the stockpot and sauté for 5 minutes. Add the onions, celery, carrots, parsley, tarragon, thyme, bay leaves, peppercorns, and saffron. Sauté for five minutes longer.

Deglaze the stockpot with the brandy and wine and simmer for 2 minutes. Add the corn cobs and chicken broth and add water if needed to cover the ingredients. Bring to a simmer over medium heat. Turn down the heat to medium-low and simmer, uncovered, for 2 hours. Pass through a fine-mesh strainer into a clean saucepan and reduce until about 4 cups of liquid remain. Set aside to cool.

While the broth is cooking, remove the puff pastry from the freezer and defrost at room temperatures for 30-minutes. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Using a small paring knife, lightly score the surface of each pastry square with a ½-inch X; do not cut into the dough. Using a pastry brush, brush each square with the beaten egg and transfer to the oven. Bake for 15 minutes, until the pastry is golden brown and flaky. Remove from the oven and let cool. Using a serrated knife, cut each puff pastry square in half horizontally; you will have six glossy top pieces and six flaky bottom halves. Pick out the four best-looking tops and set apart from the rest.

Prepare an ice bath in a large bowl. To prepare the vegetables for the filling, blanch the reserved corn kernels in boiling and salted water for about 4 minutes. Drain and transfer to the ice bath to stop the cooking process. When cool, drain again and reserve. If using fresh peas, blanch in boiling salted water for 2 or three minutes, until bright green. Drain, transfer to the ice bath, and when cool, drain again and reserve. If you are using frozen peas, defrost, drain, and reserve. Melt the butter in a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan set over medium heat. Add the onion, carrots, and celery, and cook for about 4 minutes, stirring often, until the onion is translucent. Add the flour and stir until well incorporated. Add 3 cups of the lobster broth, the cream, blanched corn, and potatoes, and turn down the heat to medium-low. Simmer, uncovered, for about 5 minutes or until the potatoes are tender and the mixture has thickened. Add the reserved lobster meat and the blanched peas and adjust the seasonings with salt and pepper. Cover the saucepan and remove from the heat. Just before you are ready to serve, stir in the tarragon and1 tablespoon of minced parsley.

To serve, place one of the pastry-square bottom halves in the center of each warm dinner plate. Top each square with about ½ cup of the vegetable-lobster filling. Cover with another pastry square (use tops you did not set apart, or bottoms) and add another ½ cup of the filling. Top with a glossy top-piece of pastry (that you did pick and set apart) and garnish with the parsley sprigs.

CHEF’S NOTE: Use the lobster broth and pot pie filling recipe, thinned with a little stock or water, the next time you want to serve a delicious lobster chowder with corn.