Seafood and Spicy Tomato Sauce Potpie

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Servings:
6

This is an elegant "faux" potpie, since the pastry is baked separately. It is packed with different seafood.

Ingredients

  • 1 large shallot, peeled and minced

  • ½ cup dry white wine

  • 1 tablespoon salt, plus more to taste

  • 12 small mussels, (8 ounces), debearded and scrubbed

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil

  • 2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced

  • 1 medium onion, chopped (about 6 ounces)

  • 3 anchovy fillets, finely chopped

  • 1 28 ounce can Italian plum tomatoes

  • ½ teaspoon red-pepper flakes

  • 1 whole large egg

  • 1 tablespoon milk

  • 1 sheet frozen puff pastry (about 8 ounces), thawed

  • ½ yellow pepper, cut into ¼-inch dice

  • 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme

  • 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

  • Freshly ground black pepper

  • ½ pound wild striped bass, skin removed, cut into 1-inch pieces

  • 5 ounces calamari, cut into rings

  • ½ pound shrimp, tail on, peeled and deveined

  • pound bay scallops

Directions

  1. Combine the shallot, white wine, salt, and 1/2 cup water in a medium saucepan, and bring to a simmer. Add the mussels, and cook, covered, until the shells are open, about 2 minutes. Remove the mussels from shell, and set aside, loosely covered. Strain the cooking liquid through a double layer of damp cheesecloth, and set aside. Discard the shells.

  2. Heat the oil in a medium straight-sided saute pan over medium heat. Add the garlic and onion, and cook, until soft, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Add anchovies; cook another 2 minutes, stirring. Raise heat to medium high; add tomatoes, breaking them up slightly with back of a spoon. Add reserved mussel liquid and red-pepper flakes, and cook until the sauce has thickened, about 25 minutes. Transfer the sauce to a food processor or blender, and puree until smooth.

  3. Heat oven to 425 degrees. Place six 6-ounce ramekins on a baking sheet, and set aside. In a small bowl, combine the egg and milk, and set aside. Lay the puff pastry on a clean surface. Using a round cookie cutter or the rim of a glass, cut out 6 pastry rounds a bit larger than rim of ramekins. Brush pastry with egg wash; place on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake until golden brown and puffed, 9 to 12 minutes. Set aside in a warm place.

  4. Return sauce to saute pan; stir in yellow peppers, thyme, and parsley. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in all the seafood; distribute mixture evenly among ramekins. Place on a baking sheet; bake until juicy and bubbling, 15 to 20 minutes. Place a round of puff pastry on top of each cup, and serve immediately.

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