Chicken and Lobster Pie

Name: Chicken and Lobster Pie
Yield: Serves 4
Cuisine: British
Ingredients: 1 tbsp chopped parsley; 500 g boned and skinned free-range chicken thighs; 2 cooked lobsters, about 500 g each; 4 shallots, peeled and roughly chopped; 1 garlic clove, peeled and chopped; 1 tbsp vegetable oil; reserved lobster shells; plain flour for dusting; 1 free-range egg, beaten; ½ tbsp chopped tarragon leaves; 350-400 g ready-made all-butter puff pastry; 500 ml hot fish stock; 500 ml hot chicken stock; ½ tbsp tomato purée; 60 ml white wine; a good pinch of saffron strands; a few sprigs of tarragon; 60 g butter; 60 g plain flour; salt and freshly ground black pepper; 400 ml double cream; 1-2 tsp cornflour (if needed); salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preparation info

Serves
4

Difficulty
Medium

Appears in

Hix Oyster & Chop House

By Mark Hix

Published 2010

About

This is a bit of a take on my rabbit and crayfish pie that was successful on BBC2’s great British menu a few years back. Shellfish like lobster and prawns really do go well with the delicate flavour of chicken. For slow-cooked chicken dishes I use thighs rather than breast meat as they stay more moist and succulent.

Ingredients

2 cooked lobsters, about 500 g each
500 g boned and skinned free-range chicken thighs

Europe
United Kingdom
Pie

Method

Remove the meat from the lobster tails and claws and cut roughly into 1 cm pieces. Reserve one lobster head (if making a large pie). Break the rest of the shells up a bit, using a heavy knife. Cut the chicken thighs in half, or into thirds if large. Cover and refrigerate the lobster and chicken meat.

To make the sauce, heat the oil in a heavy-based saucepan and fry the lobster shells, s