The Breakers Recipe - Seafood Pot Pie

SEAFOOD POTPIE

Serves 4 to 6
1/4 pound unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups chopped yellow onion (1 large)
1 cup chopped fennel
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
4 cups fish stock or clam juice
1/2 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/2 pound sea scallops, sliced in half horizontally
1 tablespoon Pernod
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
3 tablespoons heavy cream
3/4 pound cooked fresh lobster meat
1 1/2 cups frozen peas (not "baby" peas)
1 1/2 cups frozen small whole onions
1/2 cup minced flat-leaf parsley



FOR THE PASTRY
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 pound cold unsalted butter, diced
1/4 - 1/3 cup ice water
1 egg, beaten with 1 tablespoon water or heavy cream, for egg wash



1. Melt the butter in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add the chopped onion and fennel and cook for 10 to 15 minutes, until the onions are translucent. Add the flour and cook over low heat for 3 more minutes, stirring occasionally.

2. Meanwhile, bring the stock to a simmer in a large saucepan. Add the shrimp and scallops and cook for 2 minutes, just until firm. Remove the seafood to a large bowl with a slotted spoon. Pour 3 cups of the stock into a measuring cup and discard the rest.

3. When the flour is cooked in the onion and fennel mixture, slowly add the 3 cups of stock, the Pernod, salt, and pepper and simmer for 3 minutes. Stir in the heavy cream.

4. Cut the lobster meat into medium-size cubes. Add the lobster to the bowl with the seafood, then add the frozen peas, frozen onions, and parsley. Pour the sauce over the mixture and taste for seasoning. Pour into a 9 x 13 x 2 baking dish and refrigerate.

5. For the pastry, mix the flour, salt, and baking powder in a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Add the butter and pulse 10 times, until the butter is the size of peas. With the motor running, add the ice water; process only enough to moisten the dough and have it just come together. Dump the dough on a floured surface and knead quickly into a ball. Wrap the dough in plastic and allow it to rest for 30 minutes in the refrigerator.

6. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

7. Roll the dough out to fit the baking dish with about 1/4-inch overlap. Use the egg wash to paint the outside rim of the dish. Place the dough on the filled baking dish and press it lightly to adhere to egg wash. Brush the dough with egg wash. Make 4 or 5 slashes in it to allow the steam to escape. Place the dish on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper and bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes, until the top is golden brown and the filling is bubbling hot.