Lobster risotto
Ingredients (serves 3-4):
Ingredients (serves 3-4):
- Fresh slipper lobsters x 4-6 (the more lobsters, the better your stock)
- Lobster stock / prawn stock / lobster bisque
- Arborio rice
- Butter 1/2 stick
- Salt / pepper
- Wash and scrub slipper lobsters. Throw into boiling water with a tablespoon of salt and cook for 10 minutes
- Remove lobsters, save the stock.
- Cut lobsters into half, lengthwise, and leave aside to cool.
- Add pre-made lobster stock/prawn stock/lobster bisque into the stock pot, boil for 5 minutes and set aside.
- Prepare arborio rice - melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a saucepan, and add rice. Stir continuous under high heat until rice grains turn translucent and you get this delicious nutty smell.
- Add lobster stock one ladle at a time to rice, all the while stirring continuously. When rice is almost dry, add another ladle of stock and so on. The continuous stirring will help to release starch from the rice grains, lending to it risotto's characteristic texture.
- Cooking time should be 15-20 minutes. Once the arborio rice is soft but not mushy, turn off heat. Add rest of butter and fold into rice, then add a final ladle of stock.
- Serve warm with halved lobsters.
- Defrost your stash of shells.
- To a saucepan, add 1 tablespoon of butter and melt it.
- Dump in prawn shells and stir-fry until red and crisp.
- Add a selection of stem and root vegetables, all cubed - carrots, onions, a touch of garlic, celery, a sprig of parsley, parsnip etc. Cook until just very slightly soft.
- Add 1L of water and bring to the boil for 30 minutes - 1 hour. If you have a pressure cooker, by all means use it. The gold standard by my reckoning is still to leave the stock to simmer over charcoal overnight, but that's just me.
- When you're satisfied that no more flavour can possibly be extracted from the ingredients, sieve the stock and freeze it up. Remember that this is unsalted, which leaves you a lot of room when you do use the stock.
