This dish used to strike me as a lot of work. Now it seems relatively straight-forward: familiarity, I imagine, explains this. As a bonus, the leftover shells can be used to make a delicious lobster stock. This stock is the basis of the next recipe, Lobster Risotto.
Makes 6 servings
One 2- to 2½-pound lobster or three 1-pound lobsters
5½ tablespoons unsalted butter
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium carrot
1 medium onion
⅓ cup Cognac
1½ cup lobster stock, fish stock or chicken stock
1 cup dry white wine or dry vermouth
1½ cups peeled, halved and juiced tomatoes
2 to 4 tablespoons tomato paste or tomato sauce
1 teaspoon dried tarragon
1 clove garlic
Hot pepper sauce
1½ tablespoons flour
Boil or steam
One 2- to 2½-pound lobster or three 1-pound lobsters
Remove the meat, cut into bite-size pieces and refrigerate. Discard the sand sack and intestinal vein; scoop tomalley (green stuff) and coral (coral-colored eggs) into a sieve and set over a bowl. Rub through the strainer with
¼ cup unsalted butter, softened
scrape all the residue off the bottom of the strainer, cover and refrigerate for later. Chop the shells into pieces no bigger than a couple inches in their longest dimension; scissors may be the simplest way to do this unless the shells are particularly thick. Film a large saucepan with
3 tablespoons olive oil
Set over high heat and when very hot add the chopped shells. Stir and toss for 2 to 3 minutes, then add
1 medium carrot, diced
1 medium onion , diced
tossing for 2 minutes more. Pour in
⅓ cup Cognac
With a long match or a long lighter, carefully flame the cognac for several seconds, shaking the pan. Extinguish with
1½ cups lobster stock, fish stock or chicken stock
1 cup dry white wine or dry vermouth
Stir in
1½ cups peeled, halved and juiced tomatoes, chopped
2 to 4 tablespoons tomato paste or tomato sauce
1 teaspoon dried tarragon
1 clove garlic, minced
¼ teaspoon salt
Pepper, to taste
Few drops of hot pepper sauce
Cover and simmer 30 minutes, stirring once or twice. Turn into a large sieve set over another saucepan or bowl, stir and shake sieve to loosen vegetables from shells. Remove shells (reserve them for a later step) and press the juices out of the vegetables in the sieve. Reserve the vegetable solids along with the shells.
You should have about 1½ cups of rosy-colored wine-flavored lobster juices, which will need a light thickening. Blend together
1½ tablespoons unsalted butter
1½ tablespoons flour
to form a paste. Whip into the hot juices and simmer, stirring with a whisk for 2 minutes. Correct the seasoning. When you are about ready to serve, add the tomalley-butter and lobster meat just long enough to heat through. Serve over pasta or rice.
Lobster Risotto, bisque or other dishes.
And about those reserved lobster shells and vegetable solids: cover them with lightly salted water, simmer for 25 to 30 minutes and strain. Use this stock to makeAdapted from Julia Child & More Company