I think alliterative food tastes better. When I was thinking about making this, I saw lots of lobster and fennel pies and mushroom lobster pies, lobster pie with peas and carrots, but the sounds of leek and lobster has a pleasing quality. Sleeker, smoother, just better. Plus, I thought it would be tasty. Pot pie is a great way to use intimidatingly expensive lobster because you only need a little bit. I used one lobster for two people, which makes the price of the lobster almost reasonable. This pie has all the warming, cozy casualness of a chicken pot pie, but with a hint of lobstronomous fanciness. You can also substitute whatever kind of seafood you like, salmon, shrimp or crab would work well too. Just make sure to choose an alliterative vegetable to go with your choice of seafood. Crab and cucumber anyone?
Also, did you know sometimes lobsters are blue? Incredibly, brilliantly blue. I think they might be the bluest things in nature. It's pretty great.
I am so impressed with this rough puff pastry. It was incredibly fast and it is really, really close to puff pastry made the traditional (much more laborious) way. You can sub in regular puff pastry here if you want to-it's really fun to make and not very difficult, but it is time consuming. Or you can use store bought puff pastry, it will be great.
rough puff pastry
from Bake!: Essential Techniques for Perfect Baking by way of Martha Stewart
1 1/4 cups cold butter
2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for work surface
a big pinch of salt
2/3 cup cold water
Chop one cup of butter into small cubes. Put them in the freezer.
In a food processor, combine 1/4 cup butter, 2 cups flour and salt. Pulse until combined evenly.
Add cold butter cubes and pulse twice very quickly. The butter will be in large chunks and not incorporated. Add about half the water and pulse very quickly again. Add more water if the mixture is still very dry. The dough will not come together or form a ball.
Dump the contents of the food processor onto a clean work surface and roughly squish together. Roll dough out into a rectangle, dusting with flour as needed to prevent sticking. It will be crumbly and uncooperative at first, don't worry. Fold the short edges of the rectangle into the centre so they overlap. Roll out again into a rectangle and repeat this folding (check out this helpful video to see how). Wrap the dough tightly in cling wrap and chill.
filling
cooked meat from one lobster, or about 1 cup lobster meat chopped (frozen is fine)
3 sliced leeks, dark green leaves removed
5 cloves garlic, minced
one shallot
2 small yellow potatoes, cubed
1 cup white wine
1 cup cream
2 cups lobster or other seafood stock
In a frying pan over medium heat, sauté leeks, shallot and garlic until wilted and slightly translucent. Remove vegetables and set aside. Add wine, cream, stock and potatoes. Simmer until potatoes are tender when pierced with a fork. Add a little water as the potatoes cook if the liquid reduces too much. When potatoes are tender, combine with leeks and lobster meat.
assembly
Note: I used a small (8") oval pan for this, you can use a small round or square pan, or two ramekins. This recipe serves two generously, but easily doubles or triples for a crowd.
Heat oven to 425F.
Divide pastry in half. Wrap the remainder and chill or freeze for another use. Roll out pasty into a rectangle about 1cm thick. Trace the pie dish into the pastry with a paring knife and cut pastry to fit just inside the edge of the pan. Cut vents in the lid.
Fill pan with the lobster mixture. Lay pastry lid over the mixture, pressing in gently. Brush with a little cream or beaten egg. Bake until the pastry is deeply golden brown and the filling is bubbling. Serve with a salad of lettuce and lotus root.
Photos: Tyrel Hiebert