Wow, what a recipe — I give this one a solid 10! Shrimp and halibut simmered in a flavorful seafood stock with saffron, layered with sautéed julienned leeks, carrots and fennel, and topped with a panko, parmesan and tarragon mixture. The original recipe calls for a mixture of shrimp, halibut and cooked lobster, but since we don’t have lobster meat readily available here, I omitted it and increased the halibut. You could also use scallops.
Can’t get better than this. I’ll definitely be making this one again. And what’s even better, you can prepare ahead of your guests arriving and then pop in the oven to finish. Serves 4.
Recipe
1 c. seafood stock (I use Penzy’s Seafood Base)
1 c. heavy cream
1/2 c. + 3 T. white wine, divided
3 T. tomato purée (I use Sadaf brand)
1/2 tsp. saffron threads
8 oz. raw shrimp, peeled, deveined, and cut in half crosswise
1 lb. halibut, cut into 1-inch chunks
7 T. unsalted butter, divided
1 T. all-purpose flour
Kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper
3 c. julienned leeks, white and light green parts (I used 1 leek)
1-1/2 c. julienned carrots (I used 1 large carrot)
1 c. panko
1/3 c. freshly grated Parmesan
2 T. fresh Italian parsley, minced
1 T. fresh tarragon leaves, chopped
1 T. minced garlic (2 cloves)
Preheat the oven to 375-degrees. Place 4 individual gratin dishes on sheet pans.
Combine the stock, cream, 1/2 cup of the wine, the tomato purée, and saffron 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.
Continue to cook the sauce until reduced by half, about 12 minutes. Mash 1 T. of the butter together with the flour. Whisk the butter mixture into the sauce along with 1 tsp. salt and 1/2 tsp. pepper. Simmer, stirring constantly, until thickened, about 5 minutes. Set aside.
Melt 3 T. of the butter in a medium sauté pan. Add the leeks and carrots and cook over medium heat for 5 minutes, until softened. Add the remaining 3 T. of wine, 1/2 tsp. salt, and 1/4 tsp. pepper and cook for 5 to 10 minutes, until tender. Set aside.
Combine the panko, Parmesan, parsley, tarragon and garlic. Melt the remaining 3 T. butter and mix it into the crumbs until they're moistened.
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.
– Ina Garten, Food Network