By David Tanis
- Total Time
- 45 minutes, with prebaked pastry lids
- Rating
- 4(222)
- Notes
- Read community notes
Maybe there is nothing better than a boiled lobster straight from the pot, easily managed for two people, with no more accompaniment than a little melted butter. But sometimes that is too simple a preparation. So how about lobster stew? Not difficult, and easier to eat. For a homey-sophisticated touch, though, we suggest this lobster stew with a pastry lid, finished with a shower of freshly snipped herbs. Here’s how to make it.
Featured in: City Kitchen: All’s Fair in Love of Lobster and Pie
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Ingredients
Yield:2 generous servings
- 150grams all-purpose flour (about 1 cup), plus more for dusting
- Salt
- 8tablespoons (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut in ¼-inch cubes
- 1egg yolk
- 1tablespoon half-and-half
- 2lobsters, about 1½ pounds each, or 12 ounces lightly cooked lobster meat
- 3tablespoons butter
- ⅓cup finely diced celery
- 1cup finely diced leek
- Salt and pepper
- ⅛teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1teaspoon chopped thyme leaves
- ½teaspoon grated lemon zest
- 1cup half-and-half
- 2teaspoons potato starch dissolved in 2 tablespoons cold water
- ¼cup cup crème fraîche
- 1tablespoon chopped parsley
- 1tablespoon chopped tarragon or dill
- 1tablespoon chives, cut very small
- 2tablespoons chopped celery leaves, from interior stalks
For the Pastry Lids
For the Stew
For the Garnish
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Preparation
Step
1
Make the pastry lids: Put the flour and a pinch salt in a mixing bowl. With fingers, work half the butter (4 tablespoons) into the flour until completely incorporated. Add the remaining butter, leaving it in small chunks. Quickly stir in ¼ cup ice water to form a somewhat sticky ball. Knead together briefly, wrap in plastic, and press to make a flat disk about 1-inch thick. Refrigerate overnight or for at least an hour. When ready to cook, heat the oven to 400 degrees. Roll the dough on a lightly floured surface to a diameter of about 12½ inches. Using an inverted bowl as a guide, cut two 6-inch diameter circles. (The remaining dough can be rerolled and saved for another purpose.) Mix egg yolk and half- and-half. Place the circles on a parchment-lined baking sheet and paint lightly with the egg yolk mixture. Bake for 10 minutes at 400 degrees, then lower the temperature to 350 degrees and continue baking until nicely browned, about 10 minutes. (May be baked ahead, if desired, and reheated.)
Step
2
Make the stew: Place the lobsters in a large pot of rapidly boiling water over high heat. Cook for 6 minutes, then remove them and cool in a large bowl of cold water. Take the meat from the claws, tail and knuckles. (Discard the shells or use them for lobster stock.) Then cut the meat into roughly ½-inch chunks and set aside. Melt the butter in a wide, heavy skillet over medium heat. Add the celery and leek, season with salt and pepper, stir and cook until softened, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the lobster meat, cayenne, thyme and lemon zest and stir together. Pour in the half-and-half and simmer for 2 minutes. Add the potato starch mixture and cook until thickened, about 1 minute. Check the seasoning and adjust, then stir in the creme fraiche.
Step
3
Assemble the dish: Spoon the hot lobster stew into 2 deep bowls. Place a baked pastry lid on each. Sprinkle with the chopped parsley, tarragon, chives and celery leaves, and serve immediately.
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Cooking Notes
Oh my, this could be SO much easier AND better! Just follow the Jordan Pond House recipe for lobster stew - really just lobster, and half and half or cream and milk. And instead of buying whole lobsters, buy the frozen packets of knuckles and claws instead - it's perfect for the stew. I've been making this for the past 25 years for Christmas Eve dinner - we make popovers to go with it, but the lid would be nice if one didn't do that.
JasonF
Would frozen puff pastry dough be a good substitute instead of making the pastry lid from scratch?
NancyM
Much better with added lobster stock for flavoring. Easily made using lobster carcass, veggies, herbs, wine or cognac.
Danielle Ivory
The store was out of whole lobsters. I substituted two lobsters tails instead. Next time, I'll use three or four -- two did not provide enough meat. I cooked the vegetables and meat with the empty shells, which deepened the shellfish flavor. Delicious meal!
Perignon
I use four 4oz lobster tails, but I cut them in half lengthwise while raw, remove the meat, then simmer the shells for 20-30 minutes. Remove the shells, reduce the stock to just enough to cover the roughly chopped tails & use it to simmer the lobster. Set aside the meat & reduce the stock to 1/4 cup, then use that with 3/4 cup half and half when making the stew. I find this results in a rich & flavorful delight.
Lobster Mike
Boiling the lobster is the first mistake; boiling toughens the meat and makes it soggy. Steaming produces the most tender result.
dhampton313
I made three major time-saving hacks to this recipe 1) there was a sale on lobster tails, so I bought six, boiled & chopped them then added them to 1/4lb lobster meat from the seafood dept 2) I bought Dufour puff pastry dough from whole foods frozen and 3) I substituted peeled and boiled fingerling potatoes, which I added with the lobster. I also added tarragon to the actual stew. All was delicious and presented beautifully
.
Erik Anestad
I made the stew per recipe, but added 1/4 cup of white wine before adding the lobster meat and let it cook down to abt. 1 Tbsp.
No need tor the potato starch, it makes the stew too thick.
LWalker
In making this again I would use less tarragon and less creme fraiche. I would also add a little more cayenne. I like the idea of white wine added. Definitely a make again!
Monkiestree
I think frozen pastry dough is great idea!!!
Elayne Gardstein
added 2 shucked ears of corn and a sliced red pepper. used 2 deep dish ready made pie shells cooked 1/2 way then stuffed bottom with mix and covered with second shell and baked another 15 min--fabulous
Susan
I followed exactly as written. Too much herb taste not enough lobster taste. Waste of $48 lobster meat
Mer
This was far too rich for my liking. Next time I'll cut the half and half with lobster stock, or perhaps only use a few Tablespoons of it and use more stock and a roux to thicken. Otherwise, truly delicious!
Mike
Since I'm about 3,000 miles from lobster country, I always look to see if these recipes can be converted to Dungeness crab. This one can; I cut the tarragon and celery leaves in half so as to not obscure the delicate crab taste. Nice!
LMP
Wow! I substituted extra virgin olive oil for the butter, and used 12 oz. of lobster tail meat. Delicious.
ally
After reading the notes, this is what I did and my husband was raving about the results. I used 3 lobster tails and 4 lobster claws and frozen puff pastry. I added frozen corn and pre-cooked diced Yukon gold potatoes to the veggies. I used 1/4 cup of lobster stock and 3/4 cup of heavy cream and did not add the crème fraiche
jim harvie
Use 3-4 frozen lobster tailsUse puffed pastry( maybe Dufour from Whole Foods)Add white wine and tarragon to stewMaybe don’t need cornstarch
Noelle
This was good, but the lobster flavor was almost entirely wiped out by the cream and spices. I’d recommend less cream, and the addition of lobster stock and possibly white wine. As is, this is a mediocre use of lobster.
Mike
Since I'm about 3,000 miles from lobster country, I always look to see if these recipes can be converted to Dungeness crab. This one can; I cut the tarragon and celery leaves in half so as to not obscure the delicate crab taste. Nice!
Mer
This was far too rich for my liking. Next time I'll cut the half and half with lobster stock, or perhaps only use a few Tablespoons of it and use more stock and a roux to thicken. Otherwise, truly delicious!
Susan
I followed exactly as written. Too much herb taste not enough lobster taste. Waste of $48 lobster meat
LWalker
In making this again I would use less tarragon and less creme fraiche. I would also add a little more cayenne. I like the idea of white wine added. Definitely a make again!
Marcia Johanson
Wow Just made this recipe and it is very good. Flavors from the greens splash in the mouth on every bite and the pastry super crunchy is superb!
Love this recipe and will do many times ahead.
Thank you!
Lobster Mike
Boiling the lobster is the first mistake; boiling toughens the meat and makes it soggy. Steaming produces the most tender result.
dhampton313
I made three major time-saving hacks to this recipe 1) there was a sale on lobster tails, so I bought six, boiled & chopped them then added them to 1/4lb lobster meat from the seafood dept 2) I bought Dufour puff pastry dough from whole foods frozen and 3) I substituted peeled and boiled fingerling potatoes, which I added with the lobster. I also added tarragon to the actual stew. All was delicious and presented beautifully
.
LMP
Wow! I substituted extra virgin olive oil for the butter, and used 12 oz. of lobster tail meat. Delicious.
Elayne Gardstein
added 2 shucked ears of corn and a sliced red pepper. used 2 deep dish ready made pie shells cooked 1/2 way then stuffed bottom with mix and covered with second shell and baked another 15 min--fabulous
Erik Anestad
I made the stew per recipe, but added 1/4 cup of white wine before adding the lobster meat and let it cook down to abt. 1 Tbsp.
No need tor the potato starch, it makes the stew too thick.
TeresaM
I made this with Canadian cold-water lobster tails. Not sure if that was the problem, but this stew had virtually no lobster flavor... the lobster was overwhelmed by the dairy. A very expensive disappointment. (I even steeped the shells in the half-and-half to bolster the lobster flavor.)
Perignon
I use four 4oz lobster tails, but I cut them in half lengthwise while raw, remove the meat, then simmer the shells for 20-30 minutes. Remove the shells, reduce the stock to just enough to cover the roughly chopped tails & use it to simmer the lobster. Set aside the meat & reduce the stock to 1/4 cup, then use that with 3/4 cup half and half when making the stew. I find this results in a rich & flavorful delight.
JasonF
Would frozen puff pastry dough be a good substitute instead of making the pastry lid from scratch?
Perignon
I've never tried this, but I don't see why it wouldn't work. You would end up with a lid that isn't as dense or "crackly" as when using the recipe above, but it could well be a tasty variation.
Monkiestree
I think frozen pastry dough is great idea!!!
Monkiestree
I think this is a 5 star rating recipe
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