Lobster recipe:Lobster pie

Ingredients

Lobster pie recipe from www.houseandgarden.co.uk .

• 2 x 600g cooked lobsters (ask the fishmonger to halve them)
• 500g scallops, defrosted if frozen
• 3 leeks (about 250g once prepared)
• 75g butter
• 200g button mushrooms, quartered
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 50g plain flour
• 35ml dry vermouth
• 650ml milk
• 1½ tablespoons Dijon mustard
• Juice of ½ lemon
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill or parsley
• 1kg King Edward potatoes
• 50g butter
• 2 egg yolks

Method

1. Remove all the meat from the lobsters, including all the claw-meat. Halve the scallops horizontally.
   
2. Slice the leeks into rounds about 1cm thick, trimming the base and tips of the leaves. Wash thoroughly. Melt 50g of the butter in a saucepan and add the leeks. Cook for 2 minutes over a medium heat, then add a splash of water and cover. Leave to sweat for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Melt half the remaining butter in another pan and fry the mushrooms briskly until golden and most of their moisture has evaporated.
   
3. Melt the remaining butter in a frying pan and quickly sauté the scallops for about 30 seconds on each side. Season both the mushrooms and the scallops.
   
4. Add the flour to the leeks and cook for about 2 minutes, stirring a little, then add the vermouth. Reduce to almost nothing, take the pan off the heat and start stirring in the milk a little at a time. When it has all been completely incorporated, put the pan back on the heat and bring to the boil, stirring continuously. Season, add the mustard and lemon, then cook on a low heat for 5 minutes. Stir in the mushrooms, scallops (and any juice), the lobster and dill or parsley. Heat through and taste for seasoning. Divide between 6 small pie dishes. Leave to cool.
   
5. Cook the potatoes in boiling salted water until tender, then drain. Mash really well, season, mix in the butter, then stir in the egg yolks. Spoon the mash on top of each pie and smooth the top. Bake in an oven heated to 200˚C/mark 6 for about 20 minutes until golden. Serve immediately.