Lobster Pot Pie

This is an Ina Garten Recipe. So good and so simple. The only ingredient I added to this recipe was carrots. You can easily replace the lobster for shredded chicken (or canned chicken if you're in a hurry), turkey, or even crab meat. The lobster makes it 5-star though.

Lobster Pot Pie:

1 1/2 cups chopped yellow onion (1 large onion)

3/4 cup chopped fennel (1 fennel bulb)

1/4 pound unsalted butter

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

2 1/2 cups fish stock or clam juice

1 tablespoon Pernod

1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt

3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

3 tablespoons heavy cream

3/4 pound cooked fresh lobster meat

1 cups frozen peas (not "baby" peas)

1 cups frozen small whole onions

1 cup frozen carrots, chopped

1/2 cup minced flat-leaf parsley

The PERFECT Pastry:

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

8 tablespoons cold fresh lard, diced (1/4 pound)

8 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, diced

1/2 to 2/3 cup ice water

1 egg, beaten with 1 tablespoon water or heavy cream, for egg wash

Saute the onions and fennel with the butter in a large saute pan on medium heat until the onions are translucent, 10 to 15 minutes. Add the flour and cook on low heat for 3 more minutes, stirring occasionally. Slowly add the stock, Pernod, salt, and pepper and simmer for 5 more minutes. Add the heavy cream.

Cut the lobster meat into medium-sized cubes. Place the lobster, frozen peas, frozen onions, frozen carrots, and parsley in a bowl (there is no need to defrost the vegetables). Pour the sauce over the mixture and check the seasonings. Set aside.

For the crust, mix the flour, salt, and baking powder in a food processor fitted with a metal blade. Add the lard and butter and pulse 10 times, until the fat is the size of peas. With the motor running, add the ice water; process only enough to moisten the dough and have it just come together. Dump the dough out on a floured surface and knead quickly into a ball. Wrap the dough in plastic and allow it to rest for 30 minutes in the refrigerator.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Divide the dough in half and roll out each half to fit a 9 or 9 1/2-inch round by 2-inch high ovenproof glass or ceramic baking dish. Place 1 crust in the dish, fill with the lobster mixture, and top with the second crust. Crimp the crusts together and brush with the egg wash. Make 4 or 5 slashes in the top crust and bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes, until the top is golden brown and the filling is bubbling hot.