Weekly Recipe: Lobster Pot Pie By Michael Mina

August through March marks one of the most exciting halves of the year if you’re a seafood lover because that’s lobster season, and there’s nothing better than a fresh catch.

Once a humble ingredient, lobster has been elevated to a luxurious splurge, but it’s all in how you prepare it. The fresher, the better, and the flavors you bring to enhance the lobster’s natural texture and taste can take a dish from so-so to top-notch.

See also: Weekly Recipe: Lobster Spring Roll by Chef John Shaw of The Boathouse Restaurant

Luckily, we’ve got a recipe from the celebrated chef and founder of the Mina Group, Michael Mina, that will highlight the lobster and please the palate of any picky eater.

“The Lobster Pot Pie is a signature dish at many of our restaurants featuring Maine lobster, a lobster cream sauce, truffle and seasonal vegetables,” Mina says. “It was inspired by a dinner party where we wanted to serve lobster but didn’t want to break apart 20 of them for our guests. We found a solution in a roasting pan, making a pot pie that is very flavorful and indulgent. The aromas from this dish are incredible, and that first bite of the flaky pie dough is magical.”

When it comes to picking your lobster, Mina suggests buying fresh and asking your seafood monger to kill the lobsters for you, preparing the bodies for cooking by removing the tails, claws and knuckles, then packing each body part separately. That way, you’re getting the best ingredients without doing a lot of the dirty work in your own kitchen.

This recipe serves four to six, and it is sure to be an absolute delight. It comes in parts, working to prepare the lobster, then the vegetables, making a roux, making a lobster cream sauce and then putting it all together.

Follow this recipe step-by-step to bring a bit of the Mina magic home to your own family and friends and enjoy the fruits of lobster season!

Michael Mina’s Lobster Pot Pie

Ingredients:

• 4 1-lb Maine lobsters

Vegetables

• 1 cup white pearl onions, peeled
• 2 cups mixed gourmet mushrooms, cut into bite-size pieces
• 8 baby carrots, peeled
• 15 red potatoes, cut in half
• 8 baby green zucchini, cut in half
• 8 baby yellow squash, cut in half
• 1½ tbsp butter
• Kosher salt, to taste

Roux

• 2 tbsp whole butter
• 2 tbsp flour

Lobster Cream Sauce

• 3 medium yellow onions, diced
• 1 fennel bulb, diced
• 2 carrots, peeled and diced
• ½ head celery, diced
• ½ head garlic, cut in half
• 4 lobster bodies, from above
• 1 cup white wine
• 1 cup brandy
• ¼ cup tomato paste
• ½ gallon cream
• 1½ sprigs thyme
• ½ tsp black peppercorns
• ½ tsp coriander seed
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tsp vegetable oil

Assembly

• 4 baking dishes, about 1 quart each
• 3 eggs, whisked together with 2 tablespoons of water to make an egg wash
• ¼ cup assorted chopped herbs such as chives, parsley and thyme
• 4 teaspoons white truffle oil (optional)
• 4 sheets puff pastry

Directions:

Lobster

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Boil tails for 5 minutes, quickly remove and plunge into a large bowl of ice water to halt cooking.
2. Bring the water back to a boil, boil the claws for 3 minutes and plunge in the ice water.
3. Remove lobster pieces from the water.
4. Working with the claws first, hold them flat on a cutting board and gently tap the shell with the blunt end of a kitchen knife until it cracks. Gently remove the claw meat from the shell and set aside. Use kitchen scissors to cut along the side of the knuckles. Carefully remove the meat from the shell.
5. Working with the tails 1 at a time, spread the tail out flat on a cutting board. Using a serrated knife, make 3 cuts between the tail joints so that you have 3 equal sections, plus the tail fan, and remove the meat. Reserve all the lobster in the refrigerator until ready to use.

Vegetables

1. Place the pearl onions, baby carrots and potatoes into separate pots of cold water that have been seasoned well with salt. Slowly simmer the vegetables until al dente. (The cooking time for each item will vary depending on the size and type of vegetable.) Strain and lay them out on a baking sheet to cool.
2. Sauté the mushrooms, zucchini and squash in separate pans over medium-high heat. Add 1 tablespoon of butter to each pan. Cook vegetables 1 layer at a time, seasoning with salt and pepper, and sautéing until tender, about 3 to 4 minutes. Cook until slightly caramelized, then lay out on a baking sheet to cool.

Roux

1. Slowly melt the butter in a small saucepan.
2. Whisk in the flour and continue cooking on low for 3 to 4 minutes.
3. Cool and reserve.

Lobster Cream Sauce

1. Clean lobster shells. (Wear rubber gloves to protect hands.) Grasp the lobster on the 2 sides (foot side and shell side). Gently pull the 2 sides apart. When all of the bodies have been separated, use a tablespoon to scrape off the feathery gills and clean out any roe and the innards from the underside of the shell. Coarsely chop the lobster shells and bodies.
2. Heat a large stockpot over medium-high heat until it begins to smoke. Add the oil, then the lobster bodies. Sear, stirring often, until the shells are bright red. Remove pan from heat and add in the brandy, careful to avoid flame.
3. Return pan to medium-high heat. Add in diced vegetables, stirring occasionally until the vegetables are cooked through and beginning to brown.
4. Add in the tomato paste and stir to combine. Continue cooking for 2 to 3 minutes or until the tomato paste begins to brown.
5. Add in the white wine and scrape the bits from the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Continue cooking until all of the liquid is cooked out.
6. Add in the cream and the remaining ingredients (thyme, peppercorn, coriander seeds, bay leaf). Bring the pot to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes.
7. Strain cream sauce through a colander into another pot or large bowl. Use a wooden spoon or spatula to squeeze all of the juice out of the shells and vegetables. Discard what remains in the strainer.
8. Return the lobster cream to a stockpot and return to a simmer. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Slowly whisk in 1 tablespoon of roux. Let mixture cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly. (When the correct consistency is achieved, the cream should just coat the back of a spoon.)
9. Blend using a hand blender.
10. Cool using an ice bath. Reserve.

Assemble the Pot Pie

1. Preheat oven to 400° F.
2. In each baking dish, place 2 each of the carrots, potatoes, pearl onions, green zucchini and yellow squash.
3. Divide the mushrooms evenly between the dishes.
4. Place the equivalent of 2 arm sections worth of lobster meat, 2 claws, 3 medallions and 1 lobster fan in each dish.
5. Ladle 3 ounces of sauce into each dish.
6. Garnish each dish with herbs and an optional drizzle of truffle oil.
7. Place a sheet of puff pastry (which should be 1 inch larger in diameter than the baking dish) on top of each baking dish. Gently press the dough to seal the edges.
8. When all the pot pies have been capped, brush the top of each very lightly with egg wash. Sprinkle lightly with salt, if desired.
9. Place into the preheated oven for 15 to 18 minutes or until the top is golden brown.
10. Serve immediately. Cut the crust of the pot pie off the baking dish and place it onto a plate. Spoon the contents of the pot pie onto the crust and drizzle the sauce over the top. Repeat for each individual baking dish.

Follow Michael Mina on Instagram for more delicious dishes and inspiration, and visit the Mina Group online to find where you can enjoy a restaurant near you.