Happy New Year! I’d say 2019 is off to a pretty strong start. I woke up on Tuesday morning clear-headed and well-rested (I scored 100% on my sleep app) after having turned in at about 11pm on New Year’s Eve, just about sober. And then I got to cooking through the piles of vegetables in my refrigerator, because one of my low-key resolutions is to EAT MORE VEGGIES. Marcella Hazan’s carrots with capers (a new favorite), swiss chard with mustard and creme fraiche and a British homity pie (shortcrust filled with mashed potatoes, leeks, onions and cheddar) made the cut for January 1, and I know they’re recipes I’ll use again and again.

According to my acupuncturist (have you heard a more New York phrase ever?), my body runs very cold, so I’m on a no-raw-and-no-cold-foods diet for the moment. Which is a challenge for me, because I really, really crave salad. Soup is highly encouraged. So I’m now the proud new owner of an adorably squat little red Thermos, which this week is toting my homemade mulligatawny soup to work. I’m really not big on making specific resolutions for a new year, but I do want to take better care of myself (mentally and physically) in 2019, and I’m pretty pleased with the start I’ve made.

Given my ongoing love affair with London, it should come as no surprise that I am obsessed with savory pies. Growing up, my only exposure to such a thing was a chicken pot pie, which I still love, but at this point in my life I’ve been known to buy a pork pie at the Harrod’s food hall and eat it outside on a bench, slightly cold and always without enough napkins. There is truly nothing that tastes better.

These pies are clearly not British, but they’re still so tasty. I’d describe them as a mash-up between a chicken pot pie and a bisque , and better than either one on its own. Also, they really could not be cuter. AND, while I guess you could cheat and use puff pastry for the lid, I think you’ll be sorry to not have this rich, buttery crust to push your fork through. It’s really very easy to make, I promise.

Here’s hoping your 2019 resolution is to take on more cooking projects- I’d be happy to help!

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Shrimp Pot Pie

Category: Main Course

Servings: Serves 4

Ingredients

    For the Filling:
  • 1/4 lb. headless large shrimp
  • 1 cup clam juice
  • 3 oz. slab bacon or 2 strips thick-cut bacon, diced
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more for greasing the ramekins
  • 1/2 cup finely diced carrot (about 1 medium carrot)
  • 1/4 cup finely diced onion (about 1 small onion)
  • 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 3/4 cup heavy cream
  • 1/4 cup crisp, citrusy, fruity white wine, such as steel-aged Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc or Riesling
  • 1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
  • Kosher salt to taste
  • Freshly ground black pepper to taste
  • 1/2 cup shelled English peas, preferably fresh
  • 4 stems fresh flat-leaf parsley, washed and dried
    For the Crust:
  • 1 cup sifted bleached all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 3 tablespoons cold butter, cut into pieces
  • 1 tablespoon cold lard, cut into pieces
  • 6 tablespoons cold whole or lowfat buttermilk (preferably whole)

Instructions

  1. First make the dough. Sift the flour and salt together in a large bowl. Add the butter and lard and place the bowl in the refrigerator to chill for 30 minutes. Place your rolling pin n the freezer, too, if there's room. Dust your work surface with flour.
  2. With a pastry blender or your fingertips, cut the butter and lard into the flour until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs with pea-sized pieces throughout. Add the buttermilk and toss with a fork to combine. Gather the pastry together into a disk. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
  3. Preheat the oven to 425°F.
  4. Peel and devein the shrimp and place in a 2-quart saucepan with the shrimp stock. Bring to a simmer.
  5. While the stock simmers, dust the rolling pin with flour and roll out the dough on a floured surface to a rectangle 1/8 inch thick. Set an empty 8-oz. ramekin top side down on one quadrant of the dough. Dip the tip of a knife in flour and trace around the edge of the ramekin to cut a lid for one pie. Repeat on the other 3 quadrants. Cut three 1-inch-long slits, parallel to one another and about 3/4 inch apart, into each lid, to let the steam vent during cooking. Place the lids in one layer on a sheet of waxed paper and refrigerate until needed. Wrap any extra dough in plastic and refrigerate or freeze for future use.
  6. Scatter the diced bacon in a 12-inch cast-iron skillet or saute pan over medium-high heat. With a slotted spoon, move the pieces around until the bacon is firm and just golden brown, about 3 minutes. Transfer to a small bowl. Add the butter to the skillet and heat until frothy. Add the diced celery ,carrot and onion and cook until just softening, 2 to 3 minutes. Scatter the flour over the vegetables and cook, stirring constantly, until the flour is well incorporated into the fat, about 2 minutes more. Whisk in the shrimp stock, cream, wine and thyme and continue to cook until the mixture comes to a gentle simmer. Reduce the heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the bisque is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 8 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Turn off the heat and add the peas and the reserved bacon.
  7. Grease four 8-oz. ramekins with unsalted butter and divide the bisque among them, then divide the shrimp among them. Place 1 crust on top of each ramekin and bake on the top rack until the crusts are golden brown, about 20 to 25 minutes.
  8. To serve, place each ramekin on a plate and garnish with a stem of parsley.

Notes

https://www.thekitchenchronicles.com/2019/01/03/shrimp-pot-pie/