SHRIMP AND SCALLOP POTPIE
Preparing a homemade potpie is a great dish to serve family style. This potpie mixes it up with shrimp, scallops and a delicious cream sauce made with white wine and shallots. The pastry on top of the pie comes out with a beautiful golden color that will look great when you place the pie on the dinette table.
INGREDIENTS
- 1 Tbsp. chopped garlic
- 1 Tbsp. chopped shallots
- 4 Tbsp. unsalted butter
- 2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
- ¼ Cup white wine
- 1 Cup clam juice
- 1 Cup heavy cream
- 8 Strands saffron
- 1 Tbsp. chopped dill
- 2 Tbsp. chopped chives
- 1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
- 1 Pound of 16- to 20-count shrimp, shell and tail removed
- 1 Pound dry-pack scallops, cut in half
- 1 Large puff pastry sheet, keep in freezer until needed
- 1 Egg, beaten
- Kosher salt and fresh-ground black pepper
DIRECTIONS
Split a stick of butter in half and take two tablespoons and melt them in the microwave. Add the flour to the melted butter to create a roux. The roux will be used to thicken the sauce base for this recipe. Prepare the roux and place on the side.
Season the shrimp and scallops with salt and pepper and sear them in a nonstick pan on high heat to quickly sear and brown them. Do not cook them all the way. Pull the seared shrimp and scallops out of the pan and hold them on the side.
Next, pull out the frozen puff pastry and place it on a cutting board. Once it is halfway defrosted take the casserole dish that you plan on using to bake the potpie in and place the dish on top of the pastry. Cut out the pastry leaving an extra inch around the size of the casserole dish. Place the pastry dough back in the freezer until you're ready to use it.
Take your other two tablespoons of butter and melt them in a large stockpot over medium-high heat. Add the garlic, shallots and saffron and simmer for several minutes. Pour in the white wine and clam juice and reduce down by 50 percent. Then add the heavy cream and mustard and simmer for an additional 15 minutes.
Add your roux mix (the melted butter and flour mixture) to the cream mix and whisk in well. Let it simmer another 15 minutes so the flour can thicken up the mix. You will want this to be a thick mixture as the shrimp and scallops will create some more liquid when baking. Taste the sauce and adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper if needed.
Once the flavor and consistency is spot on, add the dill, chives, shrimp and scallops and mix well. Once this is done, pull out the puff pastry and let it defrost until it's soft and flexible.
Pour the shrimp and scallop mix inside the large casserole dish and top with the puff pastry. Brush the pastry with the beaten egg. This will give the crust a nice golden color.
Place the potpie in the oven and cook at 425 degrees for 25 minutes or until the crust is shiny. Serve family style.
CHEF STEVE BLACK
Chef Steve Black attended Johnson & Wales University in Providence, Rhode Island, and graduated Magna Cum Laude in 1986. His hotel career began at the Sheraton Boston Hotel & Towers in 1984, where he developed his culinary skills working in the five restaurants and catering the private banquets. In 1990, Chef Black traveled abroad to Strasbourg, France, where he had the opportunity to work with several 5-Star Michelin Chefs.
Returning to the U.S. in 1992, Chef Black moved to San Diego and joined the culinary teams at the La Costa Resort & Spa and at the Hyatt La Jolla Aventine. In 1993 he became the Executive Chef at the Sheraton Hotel & Marina on Harbor Island. During his culinary career, Chef Black has been recognized as one of the leading chefs in San Diego. In 2002, he received the Gold Medallion Award as Chef of the Year from the California Restaurant Association. At the 2008 Gold Key Awards, he was nominated for the Food & Beverage Person of the Year by the San Diego Hotel & Motel Association. He has been awarded with “Best Recipe” from Maple Leaf Duck Farms and Contessa Shrimp.
For more than 17 years, Chef Black has catered the annual events for The Old Globe Gala, the RITZ, Jewel Ball and Patrons of The Prado. He has participated in major fundraisers for Meals on Wheels, Mama's Kitchen and the Shiley Eye Institute. During the 2007 devastating fires, he personally drove donated food from the Sheraton Hotel to the Valley Center High School to feed the many people that were displaced from their homes. Chef Black has had the opportunity to cater to celebrities such as Richard Dreyfuss, Hal Holbrook & Dixie Carter, John Kerry, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bob Dole and Mayor Jerry Sanders. In 2000, he had the privilege of meeting Julia Child as she was honored at the UCSD Cancer Center event. He's also an avid angler and you'll find him fishing the local islands as well as Mexico waters.
