Seafood Gratin

Adapted from: Barefoot Contessa at Home

Boy, oh boy. If this doesn't make you go out and buy one of Ina's cookbooks, I don't know what will! I saw this on Smells Like Home and what with my seafood addiction and all, had to make it! This is the best dish I've cooked so far in 2009! So incredibly tasty and flavorful. If you like seafood, this is a must-make dish!

A couple of drawbacks: yes, the dish is expensive. You need 8 ounces each of lobster, fish, and shrimp. But as the Smells Like Home blogger notes, you really could not get 4 servings of a dish like this at a restaurant for $30!

The prep time is also lengthy. For me, it took about 2 and a half hours from initial prepping to the table. Part of that is I truly suck at julienning...well, anything, so that step took me a good 20 minutes or so.

I cannot wait to heat this up again tomorrow...yum!

Seafood Gratin

1 cup clam juice

1 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup plus 3 tablespoons white wine, divided

3 tablespoon tomato puree

8 ounces raw shrimp, peeled, deveined, tails cut off and cut in half crosswise

8 ounces halibut or cod, cut into 1-inch chunks

8 ounces cooked lobster meat, cut into 1-inch chunks

7 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided

1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

Kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

3 cups julienned leeks, white and green parts (2-3 leeks)

1 1/2 cups julienned carrots (3 carrots)

1 cup panko

1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan

2 tablespoons minced fresh flat-leaf parsley

1 tablespoon chopped fresh tarragon leaves

1 tablespoon minced garlic (2 cloves)

1.  Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Place 4 individual gratin dishes on sheet pans. (I used a square baking dish.)
2. Combine the stock, cream, 1/2 cup of the wine, and the tomato puree in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, and add the shrimp. After 3 minutes, use a slotted spoon to remove the shrimp to a bowl. Add the halibut to the stock for 3 minutes, until just cooked through, and remove to the same bowl. Add the cooked lobster to the bowl.
3. Continue to cook the sauce until reduced by half, about 12 minutes. Mash 1 tablespoon of the butter together with the flour. Whisk the butter mixture into the sauce along with 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Simmer, stirring constantly, until thickened, about 5 minutes. Set aside.
4. Melt 3 tablespoons of the butter in a medium saute pan. Add the leeks and carrots and cook over medium heat for 5 minutes, until softened. Add the remaining 3 tablespoons of wine, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper and cook for 5 to 10 minutes, until tender. Set aside.
5. Combine the panko, Parmesan, parsley, tarragon, and garlic. Melt the remaining 3 tablespoons of butter and mix it into the crumbs until they’re moistened.
6. Divide the seafood among the 4 gratin dishes. Strew the vegetables on top of each dish. Pour the sauce equally over the seafood and vegetables and spoon the crumbs evenly on top. Bake for 20 minutes, until the top is browned and the sauce is bubbly. Serve hot.