Lobster Potpie
This is my families Christmas Eve tradition, and its all the things!!! This dish is not only the perfect cozy comfort food, but is also rich and luxurious. We live next to the sweetest little park, on Christmas Eve our whole neighborhood gets together around a big bonfire to sing Christmas carols. This has been going on for over 50 years. Usually one of the neighbors will dress up as Santa and hand out candy canes to the kids. It’s just all the magical Christmas feels!! Thats how I came up with this recipe. I wanted something that was some what easy to make. Something that felt casual but tastes fancy and festive. Now I’m not going to lie this ingredient list is long……and it may sound like a lot of steps but I promise it goes fast.
Just to walk you through the process before we dive in. I first prep my water to boil my lobster. I’m going to add all kinds of things to flavor and season my stock as my lobster boils. It’s important to really allow your stock to boil long enough so all the ingredients meld together. This base is going to make the gravy for our potpie. While my water is WITHOUT my lobster boils I will start to make my roux*. Once Im done with that I set it aside until I need it. Next I will prep my veg for my potpie and start to cook them down. Then after all of that I will boil my lobster. Now that you have an idea of how things are going to go lets get into the nitty gritty.
Lobster Cream
1 large Onion rough chop
2 whole Carrots
3 stocks Celery
3 sprigs Thyme
2 Cloves Garlic smashed (very technical term)
2 cups dry White Wine, plus more for drinking
1 1/2 cup Brandy
2 cans Tomato paste
1 pint Heavy Whipping Cream
1 Tablespoon Black Peppercorns
1 Tablespoon Kosher Salt
1 Tablespoon Coriander Seeds
2 Bay Leafs
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
4 Lobster Tails
In a large stock pot we are going to add 6 cups water and the remaining ingredients other than the lobster tails. Bring this to a boil and allow to simmer for 10 minuets.
I will now start my roux*
1/2 cup Butter
1/2 Flour
Melt the butter in a small sauce pan, over medium heat.
Once butter is melted add flour and whisk until incorporated. It should look like a dough like consistency. Set aside until we are ready to use it.
I will now start to perp my veggies for my pot pie filling.
Filling
2 Tablespoons Butter
2 sprigs Thyme
2 sprigs Rosemary
1 Onion finally chopped
3 Carrots peeled and finally chopped
4 stocks Celery finally chopped
(pro tip I buy the tub of pre cut mirepoix at Trader Joes. They sell them with the fresh veggies and I freeze them for when need them.)
15 mushrooms finally chopped
5-6 small Red Potatoes pre cooked (I like to pre cook mine so I know they are done all the way. I cook mine in the microwave in a potato bag.)
1 1/2 cup frozen Peas
1 1/2 cup frozen Corn
2 Tablespoons Chicken Bouillon
1 clove Garlic crushed
Salt and Pepper to taste
Once I have all my veggies cut I add my butter to my pot over medium heat. I let that melt and add my mirepoix and my fresh herbs. Let those cook down for a few minutes and turn your heat to low.
This is a good time to add your lobster to your boil. Your lobster will let you know when it is done by turning a bright red color. It usually takes about 10 minutes.
While its boiling add the rest of your veggies to your filling pot and let them continue to cook.
Once your veggies are soft add your roux to your filling pot and turn off the heat.
Try to break it up as much as possible so it will not be clumpy in your filling.
Pull out your lobster tails from the boil pot and set aside to cool.
DO NOT DUMP OR STRIAN YOUR LOBSTER BOIL!! We need all that goodness to create our gravy.
Slowly start to ladle your stock into your filling pot. Whisk it as you go to help break up the roux.
Add chicken bouillon and garlic to your pot.
Turn your heat back on to medium and let it start to boil. As it boils it will start to thicken. Continue to add stock until you have your desired thickness. I like my sauce to coat the back of a spoon.
Once its thick enough turn the heat to a low simmer.
Now we move on to the star of the show, the lobster. On a cutting board place one tail. I use kitchen shears to cut down the top of the shell to the tail. I pull it open and remove the meat.
Once I have removed all the meat from the shells I cut it into small chunks and put it into my filling.
Give it a good stir and pull out your whole herb stems. Place filling into a 9x13 ish size baking pan. I prefer something that is a little deeper, this pan from world market I use for everything! (clearly, lol I know it in a few pictures).
Now to top it all off. I have a few different way to serve this. I will put it into my baking pan and top with pie dough or ladle it into soup bowls (I asked for these for my birthday a few yeas ago and love them!) I want to make sure you have lots of options. On Christmas Eve with so many people coming and going I prefer the soup bowl method. When I use soup bowls I will top them with puff pastier.
Puff Pastier Topping
1 box puff pastier
1 egg
1 Tablespoon Cream
Pre heat your oven to 400
Once my puff pastier is thawed I lightly roll it out on a floured surface.
I cut it into 6-8 squares.
I will mark each square with a x in the middle of it.
Add egg and cream to a bowl and whisk together.
with a pastier brush lightly coat each square with the egg wash.
Top each with some fresh ground black pepper and salt.
Bake for 10-15 minutes until golden brown.
Ladle your filling into a bowl and top with your puff pastier.
Pie Dough Topping
2 Boxes Pie Dough
1 Egg
1 Tablespoon Cream
Now don’t @ me!! Yes I am a pastier chef and yes I am capable of making my own pie dough but I just don’t think it makes that big of a difference in this recipe. I just spent all that time making that delish filling. Save yourself some time and use pre made dough!! No one will know!!!!! I pre bake my crust because if I layer my dough on top of my filling and bake it my dough often sinks into the filling and will not get crispy.
Pre heat your oven to 400
Once my pie dough is thawed I roll it out on a floured surface.
I use a round biscuit cutter (if you don’t have one use a water glass) to cut out about 24 circles.
I lay them on a baking sheet covered in parchment paper.
I will will lay the circles out to overlap each other so it creates a rectangle.
Add egg and cream to a bowl and whisk together.
with a pastier brush lightly coat each circle with the egg wash.
Top each with some fresh ground black pepper and salt.
Bake for 15-20 minutes until lightly golden brown (do not over bake we will bake it again).
Once your pie crust is done pull it out and carefully slide it onto your filling in your baking dish. (it may fall apart a little its fine just place it back in its pattern onto of your filling)
Pop your potpie back in to oven to warm it all up for about 10 minutes.
Then pour yourself a drink and give yourself a pat on the back!! You did it!!
Serve and enjoy!! I promise this one will impress!!
Cheers Babes
XOXO
*Roux - a cooked mixture of butter or fat and flour used to thicken sauces or soups.
