Seabass and Shiitake in Puff Pastry shells with a white wine & fish stock reduction sauce
One of the most soothing things to do in the kitchen at 2gourmaniacs is to make puff pastry dough. Well, at least for me, that is. The other GM? Forget about it. We have a cheffing event coming up which I thought could benefit from the appearance of an appetizer made from puff pastry shells stuffed with butter poached lobster, sautéed shiitake mushrooms and a lobster reduction sauce.
Rosaria looked at me and flat out told me that I was nuts to be thinking about making several dozen home made puff pastry shells. She grabbed my arm and dragged me out the door and into our nearest supermarket, pushing me down the frozen food aisle. Territory, which I might add, that I generally avoid like an Afghan mine field. She opened a freezer door and pulled out a couple boxes of frozen puff pastry shells.
“See these?” she chimed, “These will be just fine. Believe me.”
Choosing to avoid a 2GM heated ingredient summit in the frozen food section of the supermarket, I told her, “All right, we’ll see. But first, let’s have a taste test. And you know these things are pretty small, don’t you?” I wagged my finger at the boxes she had clutched in her hot little hands.
So we went home, and we got to work on doing a store-bought puff pastry walk through with a piece of Corvina (sea-bass) fish we had just bought. Here’s what we did:
For the Seafood Stuffing:
- 1 half pound firm flesh fish fillet, like striped bass (cut up scallops or lobster meat can be used as well and cooked in butter until translucent, and not overcooked)
- 10-12 small Shiitake mushrooms caps, cleaned and sliced thin
- 1-2 clove garlic, minced
- Canola oil or butter for sautéing
- Salt & Pepper to taste (about 3 grinds each)
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Heat 1 tablespoon oil or butter in a medium sauté pan and cook the sliced mushrooms for about 3 minutes. Add the garlic and keep stirring for 2-3 more minutes, until just cooked through but not overdone. Any liquid rendered in the pan by the mushrooms should be strained and reserved for the sauce. Cover strained mushrooms and set aside.
For the Sauce:
- ¾ cup white wine, divided into ½ and ¼ cups
- juice of 1 lemon
- half cup fish stock
- 1-2 shallots or 1 small onion, chopped
- 1-2 bay leaves
- 6-8 whole black peppercorns
- Liquid from strained, sauteéd mushrooms
- 1 Tbsp corn starch
Combine all sauce ingredients, except the cornstarch and ¼ cup wine, in a small saucepan and reduce over high-medium heat for about 15 minutes. Strain sauce and return to pan over low heat. Combine the cornstarch and ¼ cup wine and slowly add to the sauce, stirring constantly.
For Fish:
Prepare the fish by sautéing in 2 Tbsp canola oil in a heavy skillet; 3 minutes on skin side, and 1 minute on flesh side. Remove from heat, cover pan, and set aside. When it has cooled a bit, remove skin and place fillet in a bowl. Add the mushrooms and gently toss together and allow fish to naturally crumble into bite size chunks.
Prepare the puff pastry shells according to package direction (about 20-25 minutes in a preheated 425 degrees oven). Remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes. Center each shell on a dinner plate and stuff with the fish and mushroom combination; top with the puffed pastry lid. Pour a small amounts of sauce on the puff pastry as well as a small pool in front. Garnish with frisee, mâche, or assorted baby greens and serve while nice and hot.
Postscript: The following evening I unearthed a couple of my handmade frozen puff pastry shells that had been hibernating in a freezer all winter. I followed the same instructions, cooking them in a pre-heated 425 degree oven for twenty to twenty-five minutes. Their rise was spectacular, so much so, that they toppled over on one side in the oven on the baking tray. When they came out of the oven they looked like little cornucopiae or Japanese paper lanterns blown over in the wind. I filled them with chopped pan seared sea scallops, shiitake mushrooms and a light béchamel sauce. To my taste, there was no comparison between store bought and mine; but then that’s me, getting all puffed up.
RMA & RSA
