Lobster Fricassee With Artichoke Coulis And Tarragon Recipes

LOBSTER GELEES WITH FRESH TARRAGON OIL

Steps:

• Cook lobsters and make stock:
• Bring 6 quarts water to a boil in pot, then plunge 2 lobsters headfirst into water and cook, covered, 8 minutes from time they enter water. Transfer with tongs to a shallow baking pan to cool. Return water to a boil and cook remaining 2 lobsters in same manner.
• When lobsters are cool enough to handle, remove meat from tail and claws and set aside. Cut tail shells and lobster bodies (not including claws) into 1-inch pieces with kitchen shears, then rinse well, discarding gills, eye sacs, tomalley, any roe, and claw shells. Transfer to a 6- to 8-quart heavy pot, then add wine, carrots, celery, fennel, onion, garlic, large tarragon sprigs, salt, fennel seeds, red-pepper flakes, and remaining 2 quarts water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, until liquid is reduced to about 6 cups, about 1 1/2 hours.
• While stock reduces, scrape any coagulated white albumin from lobster meat with a knife and cut meat into 1/2-inch pieces, then chill, covered.
• Make gelées:
• Pour stock through a dampened cheesecloth-lined large sieve into a large bowl, pressing on and then discarding solids. Transfer 2 3/4 cups stock to a bowl. (Cool remaining stock completely, uncovered, then freeze in an airtight container for another use.) Sprinkle gelatin evenly over 1/4 cup stock in a 1-quart saucepan, then let stand 1 minute to soften. Heat over moderately low heat, stirring, just until gelatin is dissolved, then stir in vinegar and remaining 2 1/2 cups stock.
• Put molds in a baking pan. Add 2 teaspoons gelatin mixture to each mold and freeze until set, about 10 minutes. Put 1 small sprig of tarragon and a tip of claw meat in bottom of each mold, then divide lobster meat among molds. Fill with remaining gelatin mixture and chill, covered with plastic wrap, until set, at least 2 hours.
• To unmold, dip 1 mold in a pan of hot water 3 to 5 seconds to loosen. Run a thin knife around edge of mold and invert gelée out onto a plate. Repeat with remaining molds. Drizzle plates with fresh tarragon oil .

FRICASSéE OF LOBSTER WITH PASTA

Steps:

• Cook lobsters in large pot of boiling salted water 4 minutes (lobsters will not be completely cooked through). Working over bowl to collect juices, twist off lobster heads to separate from tails. Cut heads in half lengthwise. Cut tails into thick medallions (do not remove shells). Crack claws but leave intact.
• Heat oil in heavy large skillet over high heat. Add shallots and sauté until soft, about 5 minutes. Add lobster with shells and juices and Cognac and ignite carefully. Cover skillet to extinguish flame. Add wine and simmer 3 minutes. Add cream and simmer until sauce thickens slightly, about 3 minutes. Season sauce to taste with salt and pepper. Remove from heat. Cover to keep warm.
• Cook pasta in large pot of boiling salted water until just tender but still firm to bite, stirring occasionally. Drain. Transfer to platter. Spoon lobster with sauce over pasta and serve.

LOBSTER FRICASSEE WITH ARTICHOKE COULIS AND TARRAGON

Steps:

• To make the coulis, preheat the oven to 200 degrees. Place all the ingredients in a nonreactive roasting pan and cover tightly with aluminum foil. Roast for 3 hours. Remove from the oven and allow to cool. Remove the lemon and herb sprigs and puree the remainder in a blender. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Reheat over low heat just before serving.
• To make the lobster and vegetables, fill a saucepan 2/3 full of salted water and bring to a boil. Cut each asparagus stalk into thirds and add the asparagus and haricots verts to the pan. Cook until the vegetables are al dente, about 4 minutes. Drain and immediately plunge vegetables into a bowl of cold water to stop the cooking. When cool, drain well and set aside.
• Fill a large lobster kettle 2/3 full of water and bring to a boil. Place the lobsters, headfirst, into the boiling water and quickly cover the pot. Wait 5 minutes. Remove the lobsters from the pot and immediately hold them under cold running water. When cool, remove the meat from the tail and claws. (It will still be somewhat raw.) Slice each tail into 6 medallions.
• Heat the butter in a large saute pan set over medium-high heat. Sprinkle the lobster meat with salt and add to the pan. Cook, shaking the pan, until the meat is just heated through, about 3 minutes. Divide among 4 warmed dinner plates and set aside. Return the pan to the heat and add the asparagus and haricots verts. Cook, shaking, until the vegetables are just heated through, about 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and divide among the plates. Spoon some of the reheated artichoke coulis around the lobster, garnish with tarragon leaves and serve immediately with wild rice and orzo (recipe follows).

HOT LOBSTER ROLL WITH LEMON-TARRAGON BUTTER

Steps:

• To par-cook the lobsters: Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the lobsters and cook about 7 minutes; they will be about three-quarters done. Drain well and let cool. Cut in half lengthwise.
• Heat a charcoal or gas grill to high for direct grilling. Brush the cut-side of the lobsters with some oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Grill, cut-side down, until slightly charred. Flip and continue grilling until lightly charred and heated through. Remove the lobsters from the grill and let cool slightly.
• Brush the insides of the hot dog buns with some oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Grill until just toasty.
• Remove the tail and claw meat from the lobsters. You can cut them, but just enough to give you about 2 very large pieces per bun. Drop them into the Lemon-Tarragon Clarified Butter and give them a good soaking. Spoon the lobster into the toasted buns and serve immediately.
• Melt the butter slowly in a medium saucepan over low heat. Let it sit for a bit to separate. Skim off the foam that rises to the top, and gently pour into a bowl, leaving behind the milk solids, which have settled to the bottom of the pan.
• Put the clarified butter in a large saute pan over low heat. Add the lemon zest, lemon juice and tarragon, and season with salt, pepper and cayenne if desired.

TARRAGON CHICKEN FRICASSéE

Steps:

• Pat chicken dry and sprinkle all over with salt and pepper.
• Heat oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then sauté chicken in 2 batches, skin side down first, turning over once, until browned, 10 to 12 minutes total per batch. Transfer to a plate.
• Pour off all but 2 tablespoons oil from skillet, then cook shallots, garlic, and bay leaf over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until shallots are softened, about 2 minutes. Add wine and bring to a boil. Stir in cream, broth, and 1 tablespoon tarragon, then add chicken, skin side up, and simmer, covered, until just cooked through, 20 to 25 minutes. Transfer chicken with tongs to a platter and keep warm, loosely covered. If necessary, boil sauce until thickened slightly.
• Stir in lemon juice, remaining 1/2 tablespoon tarragon, and salt and pepper to taste. Discard bay leaf; pour sauce over chicken.

LOBSTER BISQUE WITH TARRAGON

Steps:

• In a large soup pot, melt 4 tablespoons of the butter over medium heat and add the carrots, shallots and celery. Cook, stirring, until the vegetables are very soft, about 5 minutes. Set aside.
• Place a cutting board inside a sheet pan. (This will catch all the juices from the lobsters.) Lay a lobster on the cutting board. Place the tip of a large, heavy knife at the indentation where the carapace meets the head of the lobster, making sure that the cutting blade is facing toward the lobster's eyes. Swiftly and forcefully, plunge the knife through the lobster until the point of the knife hits the cutting board. Immediately force the blade down, splitting the head of the lobster. (The lobster will be dead, although it may still move.) Repeat with the remaining lobster.
• Twist off the tails and claws of the lobsters. Split the bodies in half and scoop out and discard the spongy green parts in the head. Put the lobster pieces and any juice that has accumulated in the sheet pan into the pot with the vegetables and cook, stirring, over medium-high heat until the shells are bright red, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove the lobsters from the pot and cool a few minutes. Remove the meat from the claws and tails and refrigerate. Chop the shells into small pieces and return them to the pot.
• Cook the shells for a few minutes over high heat. Add 4 tablespoons of the Cognac and ignite it. When the flames die, add wine, stock, tarragon leaves, bay leaf, tomatoes, 1 teaspoon of salt and a few grinds of pepper. Lower the heat and simmer for 45 minutes.
• Remove as many large pieces of shell as possible and place them, a cup or two at a time, in a food processor. Pulse until the shells are finely ground. Return ground shells to the pot and add the rice and 3 cups of water. Dice the meat from the tails only and add it. Cover the pot and simmer another 30 minutes.
• Put the soup through a food mill. Discard the solids and strain the puree through a fine sieve. Put the puree in a large saucepan and add the cream, milk and remaining Cognac. Heat very gently, not allowing it to boil, until hot. Just before serving, whisk in the remaining tablespoon of butter. Ladle soup into bowls and chop the claw meat to use with a little chopped tarragon for garnish. Serve immediately.

GRILLED LOBSTER WITH TARRAGON BUTTER SAUCE

Steps:

• Preheat an outdoor grill for medium heat and lightly oil the grate.
• Cut lobster tails lengthwise with poultry shears. Cut open claws to allow sauce to reach the meat.
• Combine butter, lemon juice, onion, parsley, garlic, tarragon, and hot sauce in a bowl. Slather meat with sauce and place face-down on the preheated grill.
• Cook until lobster begins to char, 5 to 6 minutes. Flip and continue to grill until meat is opaque and firm, 5 to 6 minutes more.

TARRAGON LOBSTER SALAD

Steps:

• Plunge 2 live lobsters headfirst into an 8-quart pot of boiling salted water. Loosely cover pot and cook lobsters over moderately high heat 9 minutes from time they enter water, then transfer with tongs to sink to cool.
• Return water to a boil and cook remaining 2 lobsters in same manner.
• While lobsters are cooking, combine shallot, lemon juice, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a large bowl and let stand at room temperature 30 minutes.
• When lobsters are cool, remove meat from claws, joints, and tails. Discard tomalley, any roe, and shells (or save for another use). Cut meat into 1/2-inch pieces.
• Whisk mayonnaise, tarragon, and 1/4teaspoon black pepper into shallot mixture. Add lobster meat and toss gently to coat.

LOBSTER FRICASSEE

Steps:

• Melt the margarine in a saucepan; add the mushrooms, garlic powder, & onion powder.
• Saute 5-6 minutes.
• Whisk the milk and flour in a small bowl, whisking quickly to eliminate any lumps.
• Pour the milk mixture into the mushroom mixture; mix thoroughly, and continue cooking 3-4 minutes.
• Add the lobster, paprika, and salt & pepper to taste.
• Continue cooking 5-10 minutes until lobster is heated through.
• Spread rice or pasta onto a serving platter.
• Spoon lobster and sauce over the top.
• Garnish with parsley & then serve.

SEAFOOD FRICASSEE

Steps:

• In a saucepan over medium heat, cook the shallots with the white wine for 2 minutes.
• Add the celery and cook for 1 minute, then the shrimp, and cook for another minute. Add the scallops and cook for 1 minute, stirring gently.
• Turn up heat to high, and add the squid, red pepper and tomato. Cook, stirring, for 30 seconds.
• Add the butter, kaffir lime leaf, chili and parsley, and salt and pepper to taste. Remove from the heat and set aside for 1 minute to allow flavors to meld.
• Distribute the fricassee into 4 warm serving bowls. Serve with toasted sourdough bread.