Chunky Lobster Stew With Tomalley Croutons Recipes

CHUNKY LOBSTER STEW

Steps:

• 1. Blanch the lobsters for 4 minutes in a large pot of boiling fresh sea water or salted water. Remove from water, punch a little hole in the top of each head and allow to drain. Break off the claws and the tail. Remove the tomalley from the body and set aside in the refrigerator. Shuck the meat, chop into large bite-size pieces and set aside in the refrigerator. Be sure to remove intestinal tracts from the tails.
• 2. Place all the shell and bodies in a large saucepan and barely cover with water (about 2 1/2 quarts). Add the onion and bay leaves. Bring to a boil, skim, and reduce to simmer.
• 3. Peel and seed the tomatoes. Put the seeds and juice into the lobster stock and cut the tomato into medium dice; set aside. Pick the chervil off the stems. Add the stems to the stock and coarsely chop the chervil leaves; set aside.
• 4. After the stock has simmered for about 1 hour, add the heavy cream; simmer about 20 minutes more.
• 5. Simmer the leeks and carrots in butter in a soup pot until they begin to get tender (about 5 minutes). Now add the tomatoes and lobster meat and simmer 2 or 3 minutes more. Strain the creamy lobster stock into the soup pot (you should have about 6 cups of liquid). Season to taste with salt, pepper and cayenne pepper and sprinkle with chervil. Serve with tomalley croutons.

LOBSTER LOVAGE STEW

Steps:

• In a 10- to 12-quart kettle bring 8 quarts water and 1 1/2 cups wine to a boil. Plunge lobsters into liquid headfirst and return liquid to a boil. Simmer lobsters, covered, 12 minutes. Have ready a bowl of ice and cold water. With tongs plunge lobsters immediately into bowl of ice water to stop cooking and reserve cooking liquid.
• Working over a bowl to catch juices, twist off tails and claws and reserve juices. Discard head sacs. Reserve tomalley and any roe if desired and remove meat from tails and claws, reserving shells. Cut meat into bite-size pieces and chill, covered, in a bowl.
• Chop 2 carrots and add to reserved cooking liquid with reserved lobster juices, reserved tomalley and roe if using, reserved shells, onions, 1/2 cup lovage or celery leaves, bay leaves, thyme, parsley, and peppercorns. Simmer stock gently, uncovered, skimming froth occasionally, 1 1/4 hours.
• Pour stock through a large sieve into a large bowl and transfer to cleaned kettle. Boil stock until reduced to about 7 cups and return to bowl.
• Finely chop remaining 2 carrots and in a 5- to 6-quart kettle cook with shallot in butter over moderately low heat, stirring occasionally, until crisp-tender. Sprinkle flour over mixture and cook, stirring, 3 minutes, but do not brown vegetables. Add remaining 1/2 cup wine and boil, stirring, until most of wine is evaporated. Add tomatoes and stock and simmer, covered, 10 minutes. Stir in cream and salt and pepper to taste and cook stew, stirring occasionally, until heated through. Stew and lobster meat may be prepared 2 days ahead and chilled, covered. Reheat stew before proceeding.
• Finely chop remaining 1/2 cup lovage or celery leaves and stir into stew with lobster meat. Cook stew, stirring, until just heated through.

TOMALLEY CROUTONS

Steps:

• 1. Sauté the garlic and onion in 1 tablespoon butter. Let cool somewhat, then mix with the remaining butter and parsley. Whip in the tomalley and season to taste with salt and pepper.
• 2. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Slice the French bread 3/8 inch thick and toast on both sides. Spread each piece with the tomalley-butter mixture. Place on a sheetpan and put in the pre-heated oven or under a broiler until croutons are crispy and hot. Serve immediately.

LOBSTER STEW

Steps:

• Melt the butter in a deep pot, add the lobster scraps, crush them down well with a potato masher and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, for 5 minutes.
• Add water to not quite cover, bring to a boil, lower heat to moderate and cook, uncovered and stirring often, for 20 minutes. Strain off broth and discard scraps.
• Put broth into a deep saucepan and boil hard until it is reduced to 1 cup. Add milk, cream, seasonings and lobster meat and heat through without boiling. Cool quickly and refrigerate for 1 to 2 days to develop flavor. Heat through (without boiling) before serving.

LOBSTER STEW WITH A PASTRY LID

Steps:

• Make the pastry lids: Put the flour and a pinch salt in a mixing bowl. With fingers, work half the butter (4 tablespoons) into the flour until completely incorporated. Add the remaining butter, leaving it in small chunks. Quickly stir in 1/4 cup ice water to form a somewhat sticky ball. Knead together briefly, wrap in plastic, and press to make a flat disk about 1-inch thick. Refrigerate overnight or for at least an hour. When ready to cook, heat the oven to 400 degrees. Roll the dough on a lightly floured surface to a diameter of about 12 1/2 inches. Using an inverted bowl as a guide, cut two 6-inch diameter circles. (The remaining dough can be rerolled and saved for another purpose.) Mix egg yolk and half- and-half. Place the circles on a parchment-lined baking sheet and paint lightly with the egg yolk mixture. Bake for 10 minutes at 400 degrees, then lower the temperature to 350 degrees and continue baking until nicely browned, about 10 minutes. (May be baked ahead, if desired, and reheated.)
• Make the stew: Place the lobsters in a large pot of rapidly boiling water over high heat. Cook for 6 minutes, then remove them and cool in a large bowl of cold water. Take the meat from the claws, tail and knuckles. (Discard the shells or use them for lobster stock.) Then cut the meat into roughly 1/2-inch chunks and set aside. Melt the butter in a wide, heavy skillet over medium heat. Add the celery and leek, season with salt and pepper, stir and cook until softened, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the lobster meat, cayenne, thyme and lemon zest and stir together. Pour in the half-and-half and simmer for 2 minutes. Add the potato starch mixture and cook until thickened, about 1 minute. Check the seasoning and adjust, then stir in the creme fraiche.
• Assemble the dish: Spoon the hot lobster stew into 2 deep bowls. Place a baked pastry lid on each. Sprinkle with the chopped parsley, tarragon, chives and celery leaves, and serve immediately.

CHUNKY LOBSTER STEW WITH TOMALLEY CROUTONS

Steps:

• Bring enough water to the boil to cover the lobsters when they are added. Add salt and the lobsters and cook exactly four minutes after the water has returned to boiling.
• Drain the lobsters immediately. Make a small half-inch crack in the solid shell that covers the head of each lobster. Make the crack slightly below the eyes of each lobster. Place the lobsters tail-side up, heads down, so that the liquid drains from the heads.
• When the lobsters are cool enough to handle, tear off the tails and claws of each. Let the tomalley -the inner soft portion of the bodies-empty into a mixing bowl. Put the shells in a kettle.
• Place the lobster tails on a flat surface and cut lengthwise with a sharp knife or cleaver. Pull away and discard the intestinal tract of each tail. Remove the tail meat and put the shells into the kettle.
• Crack the claws and remove the meat. Put the claw shells into the kettle. Cut the claws and tail meat into bite-size pieces. There should be about three cups. Set aside.
• To the lobster shells in the kettle add 10 cups of water, the two cups of coarsely chopped onion and the bay leaves. Bring to the boil.
• Meanwhile, cut away and reserve the firm outer flesh of the peeled tomato. Set aside. Chop the inner portion of the tomato and add it to the kettle. Cut the reserved portion of the tomato into half-inch cubes. Set aside.
• Pull away the leaves of the chervil. Set the leaves aside. Toss the remaining sprigs into the kettle. Cook the lobster broth about one hour, then add the heavy cream. Let simmer briefly.
• To prepare the garnish for the stew, put four tablespoons of the butter into a saucepan. Add the garlic and finely chopped onion to the butter and cook about three minutes, stirring. Add this to the reserved tomalley and beat thoroughly to blend. Refrigerate.
• Meanwhile, heat the remaining eight tablespoons of butter in a heavy saucepan and add the leeks and carrots. Cook about five minutes, stirring occasionally without browning. Add the cubed lobster meat, the tomato cubes and cook, stirring briefly, until heated through.
• Strain the liquid from the kettle, discarding the solids. There should be about six cups. Pour this into the saucepan containing the lobster meat. Bring to the simmer and add salt and a generous grind of black pepper. Finely chop the chervil leaves and add them.
• Meanwhile, preheat the broiler and toast the French bread slices on both sides. Spread one side of each with a thin layer of the tomalley mixture. Run briefly under the broiler until the tomalley mixture starts to bubble. Serve the hot soup with the pieces of tomalley toast on the side.