Seafood Gratin

Ingredients

• 4 servings pepper black freshly ground
• 1.5 cups carrots julienned (3 carrots)
• 1 cup bottled clam juice 
• 1 tablespoon flour all-purpose
• 2 tablespoons flat-leaf parsley fresh minced
• 1 tablespoon tarragon leaves fresh chopped
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• 8 ounces halibut raw
• 1 cup heavy cream 
• 4 servings kosher salt 
• 3 cups leeks light white green julienned (2 large)
• 8 ounces live maine lobsters cooked cut into 1-inch chunks
• 1 cup panko bread crumbs dried (Japanese bread crumbs)
• 0.3 cup parmesan freshly grated
• 8 ounces shrimp raw deveined peeled cut in half crosswise
• 0.5 teaspoon saffron threads 
• 3 tablespoons tomato purée 
• 7 tablespoons butter unsalted divided
• 0.5 cup white wine such as chablis, divided good

Equipment

• bowl
• frying pan
• sauce pan
• oven
• whisk
• slotted spoon

Directions

1. Watch how to make this recipe.
2. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
3. Place 4 individual gratin dishes on sheet pans. (If recipe is doubled serve it in a 14 by 9 1/4-inch oval gratin dish.)
4. Combine the stock, cream, 1/2 cup of the wine, the tomato puree, 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.
5. Add the halibut to the stock for 3 minutes, until just cooked through, and remove to the same bowl.
6. Add the cooked lobster to the bowl.
7. Continue to cook the sauce until reduced by half, about 12 minutes. Mash 1 tablespoon of the butter together with the flour.
8. 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.
9. Melt 3 tablespoons of the butter in a medium saute pan.
10. Add the leeks and carrots and cook over medium heat for 5 minutes, until softened.
11. 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.
12. 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.
13. Divide the seafood among the 4 gratin dishes. Strew the vegetables on top of each dish.
14. Pour the sauce equally over the seafood and vegetables and spoon the crumbs evenly on top.
15. Bake for 20 minutes, until the top is browned and the sauce is bubbly.
16. Serve hot.