Jumping fish

Risotto with lobster

Lobster is delicious, with bright white flesh that is soft and sweet.
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  • 4 persons
  • cooking time: 1 hour
  • difficulty

Ingredients

  • 2 live lobsters, 400–500-g
  • 2 L court-bouillon
  • 1,2 L shellfish bouillon
  • 1 shallot, chopped
  • olive oil
  • 300 g risotto rice
  • 30 ml white wine
  • 1 handful flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
  • 25 g butter
  • salt and pepper

How to prepare

RISOTTO WITH LOBSTER

Lobster is delicious, with bright white flesh that is soft and sweet. However, lobster meat deteriorates quickly as it contains enzymes that start to break down as soon as the creature dies. To keep the meat fresh for as long as possible, the lobster must either be cooked immediately after it has been caught, or kept alive. It’s why you often see a tank – or, more accurately, an homarium – containing live lobsters in some restaurants. You choose the one you’d like and the chef prepares and cooks it just before serving. Sadly, though, a live lobster isn’t always fresh! A lobster can survive for a long time in a tank, even without food, but eventually it will start to eat its own flesh. It becomes thin and weak and, when cooked, the meat has a mushy texture. You have no way of knowing how long a lobster has been in an homarium, or how long it was before it was put in there. Some merchants keep lobsters for months waiting for prices to rise at the end of the season. Always choose a lively, active lobster as it’s the best indication of freshness.

Preparation

  • 1 First render the lobsters unconscious by freezing them for 1 hour. Remove the lobsters from the freezer and leave them for 15 minutes to come to room temperature. Bring the court bouillon or salted water to the boil in a large pan, add the lobsters and boil for 8 minutes. Drain and lightly rinse them under cold running water. Break off the tails and remove the meat. Crack the claws and dig out the meat with a lobster pick.
  • 2 Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a deep frying pan (skillet) over a medium high heat and sauté the shallot until softened. Add the rice and stir for 2 minutes until the grains are translucent. Deglaze with the white wine.
  • 3 Add 20 ml of the shellfish bouillon. When the rice has absorbed almost all the liquid, add more bouillon, stirring constantly. Meanwhile cut all the lobster meat into large chunks and set aside.
    Continue to add the bouillon in the same way until the rice is cooked but still has a little ‘bite’. This will take about 20 minutes
  • 4 Stir in the butter, the lobster meat and the parsley and season with salt and pepper.