Cooking with Lobster

I feel decadent eating lobster because growing up, it was always really expensive. But lately lobster has been sort of inexpensive. Not sure why, maybe an overabundance. It was on sale recently so I decided to make a risotto with the lobster, and adding some typical summer ingredients like white corn and tomatoes. The meaty lobster pieces placed on top really made the risotto even more luxurious. Enjoy!

Summer Lobster Risotto Recipe

Copyright 2010 by Cooking With the Single Guy

Ingredients
2 lobster tails
1 white corn, kernels removed from the cob
1/2 cup cherry or grape tomatoes, each one cut in half
1/2 sweet onion, diced
1 cup Arborio rice
2 cups lobster or shrimp stock*
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
2 T extra virgin olive oil
small glass of dry white wine
1 clove garlic, minced
1 T butter
salt to season

Bring a pot of water to a medium boil and then add the lobster tails. Cook until the lobster turns bright orange (about 15 minutes). Remove tails from boiling water and let cool. Remove meat from the shell and chop into bite-sized pieces and set aside.

Then make the risotto. In a medium saucepan, warm 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium high heat and add onion and garlic. Cook for about two minutes until onions are translucent, making sure not to brown the garlic. Add rice and stir with onions, letting the heat toast the rice for about a minute. Turn heat to medium and add wine and cook until most of it evaporates. Then start adding in the broth, using a ladle to add two scoops of broth (about 1/2 cup) to start. After about 5 minutes, toss in the corn. Continue cooking for about 10 to 15 minutes, stirring with a wooden spoon and adding broth along the way as it gets absorbed, until rice is al dente, or almost done. Add the tomatoes near the end. Then salt to taste.

Remove saucepan from the fire and stir in butter and cheese. Let it sit for about a minute, then plate up your risotto and top with lobster. Garnish with a wedge of lemon.

Makes two servings.

Pair with a glass of Sauvignon Blanc.

*If you don’t have shrimp stock handy, then you can make a quick lobster stock from the lobster shells from the tails you just cooked. After you remove the lobster meat from the shell, drop the shell in the pot simmering water and add half an onion, a couple stalks of celery, bay leaf and about five peppercorn and then let simmer for about 15 minutes. Pour everything through a strainer and use the stock for your risotto.

REVIEW OF RISOTTO: Risotto rice makes this dish unique with its short grain and creamy texture. So you can’t substitute it with the typical long-grain rice or even Japanese sushi rice. But you do have choices. There are three main Italian rice to make risotto: Arborio, Carnaroli and Vialone Nano. Arborio is the one most widely available outside of Italy and can be easily found in any grocery store. It consistently cooks in 15 minutes and produces a nice cream. But don’t be afraid to experiment with Carnaroli and Vialone Nano if you spot them on a gourmet store shelf. They both cook a bit longer, but Carnaroli grains keep more of their shape so it’s a nice choice if you don’t like your risotto too mushy. Vialone Nano is creamier if you want to go the other direction.