INGREDIENTS:
For Lobsters
5 1¼ pound
Maine lobsters
2 lemons, juice only
2 Tablespoons shallots, minced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
5 sprigs chervil, roughly chopped
1 teaspoon black pepper, freshly ground
For Green Pea Sauce
4 cups peas, fresh, podded
1 teaspoon olive oil
¾ cup onion, small dice
1 cup vegetable stock - see below
¼ teaspoon black pepper, freshly ground
½ teaspoon salt
For Vegetable Stock
1 teaspoon olive oil
3 ounces carrots, small dice
2 ounces celery, small dice
2 ounces leeks, small dice
1 clove garlic crushed
3 Tablespoons shallots, minced
2 ounces white wine
1 quart water
3 ounces mushroom trim
3 stems thyme
½ teaspoon black peppercorns
2 each bay leaves
4 stems parsley
For Spring Vegetable Risotto
½ cup asparagus, tips only, cut 1½” from the tip
½ cup baby carrots, stemmed, cut into ½” rounds
½ cup baby yellow squash, stemmed, cut into ½” rounds
2 teaspoons olive oil
¾ cup morel mushrooms, cut into ½” pieces
¼ cup
Cognac
½ cup onion, small dice
1 cup Arborio rice
2¼ cup vegetable stock, hot
¾ cup white wine
2 Tablespoons butter, unsalted
2 ounces Parmesan, freshly grated
5 sprigs thyme, leaves only
4 ounces
Maine lobster, knuckle meat, roughly chopped
For Garnishes
5 sprigs chervil, leaves only
2 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar syrup
15 each Parmesan curls, 2” x ¾”
DIRECTIONS:
For Lobsters
Steam Maine Lobsters for three minutes. Remove from the water and immediately plunge into ice water. Allow to cool. Combine remaining ingredients in a large bowl. Remove meat from tail, knuckles (these will go into the risotto), and claws. Discard shells and add meat to the above marinade. Marinate for 15-30 minutes. Using a steel skewer, straighten the tails lengthwise. Just
prior to service, grill the tails and claws on a moderately hot grill
until cooked through - about 2 minutes a side for the tails and slightly
less for the claws.
For Green Pea Sauce
Bring 1 quart of water to a boil in a 2 quart pot and add peas. Cook until the peas are tender. Strain. Reserving 3/4 cup of peas, puree the remainder in a blender then strain. Heat the olive oil in the 2 quart pot then sweat the onions until transparent. Add the pureed peas. Thin to heavy cream consistency using the vegetable stock (½ to 1 cup). Season with salt and pepper. Add reserved whole peas and keep warm.
For Vegetable Stock
In a 2 quart pot heat the olive oil and add the carrots. When the carrots are beginning to brown, add the celery and leeks. Continue cooking until the vegetables are all browning. Add the garlic and shallots - cook until the aroma is evident. Deglaze the pot with the wine. Reduce the liquid by half. Add the water, mushroom trim, thyme, black pepper, bay leaves, and parsley. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 1 hour. Strain and keep hot.
For Spring Vegetable Risotto
Add 1 quart water each to three 2 quart pots and bring to a boil. Adding 1 vegetable to each, cook until just tender the asparagus, the carrots, and the yellow squash. Strain and immediately shock in ice water each vegetable. Strain again and hold in separate containers. Heat 1 teaspoon olive oil in a medium rondeau. Add morels and cook until most of the moisture has been rendered. When the morels are cooked down, remove the pan from the heat and deglaze with the cognac. Return the pan to the heat and reduce the cognac until nearly gone. Remove the morels from the pan and hold. Into the rondeau add the remaining olive oil and heat. Add the onion and cook until translucent. Add the Arborio rice and cook, stirring, until a nutty aroma develops. Add half of the stock (which is hot) and stir constantly until absorbed. The rice will begin to become creamy. Add the remaining stock, continuing to stir, until absorbed. Add the wine as the final stage, stirring, until the rice is creamy but not runny or overly stiff. Stir in the butter and Parmesan. Add the thyme. Gently fold in the carrots, asparagus, squash, morels, and Maine Lobster knuckle meat (which will finish cooking in hot risotto.) Keep warm.
For Garnishes
Using a vegetable peeler, peel off 15 strips of Parmesan. Place on a parchment-lined sheet pan. In a 350 degree oven toast the curls until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Cool.
To Assemble
In the middle of a soup plate place a 2½” ring mold and fill with 2/3 cup of the Spring Vegetable Risotto. Remove ring mold. Ladle 4 ounces of the Green Pea Sauce around the risotto. Place a
Maine lobster tail (sans skewer) on the risotto from 12 to 6 o’clock (head end at 12.) Put the claws at 10 and 2 o’clock respectively. Pile 3 Parmesan curls on the center of the tail, drizzle a bit of the balsamic vinegar syrup over the sauce and Maine Lobster, and place 6 or so chervil leaves on the plate in random spots.
