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Lobster

Maine Lobster Risotto (Made in Maine)

My family’s traditional preparation of a lobster dinner is just that – traditional.  We typically buy the lobsters alive, fill up the steam pot with a bunch of sea water from the beach and boil them.  We’ll then take the cooked lobsters and serve them whole with butter and tools for getting to the meat.  Sides of corn and new potatoes are common as well.  Very Maine coast, traditional and delicious.

I realized recently though, that we rarely ever deviate in the way we eat lobster.  I realized that family food traditions are perhaps some of the most trusted and used traditions of all, and are not lightly changed or altered.  Aimee’s family has the same traditions, the best of which in my opinion are done with Dungeoness Crab around Christmas time.  Their tradition includes fresh SF sourdough, some mayo and is absolutely delicious.  If there’s any altercation to this tradition, then it’s all about topping some of the crab with garlic, red chili flakes and butter and baking it in the oven before taking it to the bread.

I always used to joke with Aimee and tell her that I wanted to use the crab in another way – create a dish around the meat and not just eat it out of the shell.  I then of course realized that it was time to do the same altercation with the lobster, so for Aimee’s birthday, I went for this dish.  This recipe started with the usual lobster cooking process and then gets a bit of a Batali cookbook infusion…but is pretty much Maine coast (with a touch of Italy) in the final taste.  I really liked the idea of serving this risotto with a little more liquid than I might a normal risotto, which made plating a little tough, but it was wicked good…heh heh.  Here’s how it went:

• 4 1.25-1.5 lb. Maine lobsters – uncooked
• 2 medium white onions – one chopped finely, one chopped coarsely
• 2 medium/large carrots – one chopped finely into cubes, one chopped coarsely in larger pieces
• 2 bay leaves
• 3 Tbsp. tomato paste
• 1.5 cups Arborio rice
• 1 cup decent dry white wine – Sauvignon Blanc works well here
• 1/2 cup flat leaf parsley – finely chopped
• 4 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
• A knob of butter + 4 Tbsp. for finishing
• Good sea salt (I love good salt, makes a huge difference)
• Freshly ground black pepper

Start with the lobsters.  Over high heat, bring a big pot of water up to a boil and add in one onion, one carrot and the bay leaves.  Prepare a large ice bath in a big bowl.  One by one or two by two, plunge the lobsters in to the boiling water for a few minutes and then remove them to the ice bath to stop the cooking.  Continue until all the lobsters are cooked, cooled and set aside, but make sure you don’t drain the cooking liquid!!!  Set the liquid aside and get yourself a large ladle.

Next, you can prepare the risotto.  Start with a large pan over medium heat and add the knob of butter and olive oil.  Add the finely chopped onion and cubed carrot to the pan and season with a little salt and pepper.  Cook the vegetables without browning them until they’re soft and translucent.  Add in the rice and tomato paste to the pan and cook it until it’s toasted a little bit and becomes rather opaque and the tomato paste starts to brown.

Add in the wine to the pan, then ladle in a couple ladle-fulls of the lobster cooking liquid and stir the rice, letting the liquid cook off.  Once the liquid is cooked off, add in more of the cooking liquid, stir the rice and cook off.  Continue to do this for around 15 minutes until the rice becomes al dente.

Meanwhile, you can work on the lobsters – they should be undercooked at this point.  Take the meat out of their shells and set it aside – the easiest way to do this is to crack the claws with a cracker, attempting to leave the claw meat whole.  With the tails, break each tail off of the body and then break the tail lengthwise down the seam.  You then want to flip the tail over and break it the other way from where you just cracked it.  This way, the tail meat will just pop right out with minimal effort.  Chop the tail meat into 1/2″ to 1″ pieces and set aside.

Add the lobster meat to the rice and stir it in, still adding liquid to the rice to finish it cooking.  It will be done when the rice is cooked but still holds its shape and texture.  At this point, adjust for seasoning, adding some more salt and pepper to your taste.  Add in the parsley and stir it in, then remove the risotto from the heat and stir in the butter vigorously.  Depending on the consistency, add in a little more liquid to the rice to loosen it bit.  Serve immediately.

Serves around 6

Tags: lobster, Risotto