Lobster - a live animal in the kitchen; a delicious shelfish on the plate. Again, it might sound like something you will be served in only the best of restaurants but it isn't actually that hard to cook. As with all seafood it's only a matter of not overcooking it, which will result in hard, rubbery meat. Just follow my steps and you'll have a delicious plate to impress anyone. When buying the lobster, go for a live one over the frosen if available. Look for one that is heavy compared to it's size as it means more meat and less shell. And finally, get one that is as lively as possible and make sure you eat it the same day. Handling them at home requires a bit of firmness. Take a lesson of how not to deal with them from this classic scene from Annie Hall:
Ingredients 4-6 people:
1 lobster
4-6 Crayfish (Optional)
Olive Oil
2 cloves of crushed Garlic
1/2 dried chili
1 Onion
1 Green pepper
1 Red pepper
1 Chopped tomato
2 tbsp tomato concentrate
Safran
2 tsp Spanish paprika
Some brandy (or whisky)
2 cups (500ml) of paella rice
1 glass of white wine
1 l of fish or chicken stock
Salt
Fresh parsley for decoration
In a couple of spoonfuls of cold olive oil, slowly warm up some garlic and chili. Don't burn, just infuse the oil. Remove.
Chop an onion, a green pepper and some red pepper. Reserve.
The beast - alive and kicking.
Hold the lobster down with a kitchen towel. Place sharp chef knife between the eyes. If you don' like it kicking, you can put it in the freeser for an hour before. this way it hypernates and stops moving.
Press down hard, cut down forwards, basically to spilt it's brain in two. It dies instantaneously, though it keeps moving even after it goes on the frying pan.
Holding with the kitchen towel, break off the tail, cut the body and tail in two. Remove intestines and stomach.
Break off claws. Crack them a bit with a hammer or the base of a heavy pot.
In it goes, into the hot infused oil, meat side down.
Turn it over after a minute or two. Remove, reserve.
In the same oil, we added some Cigalas (Crayfish) as well (optional). Frying them whole a coulpe of minutes. Remove and reserve.
Sautee the vegetables in the same oil.
Add the garlic and chili from before.
When the veggies starts getting soft, add a chopped tomato.
Add a coulpe of table spoonfuls tomato concentrate. Add some strands of safran and a couple of spoonfulls of paprika.
Turn up heat really high. Add a good squirt of brandy (or whisky) into the hot frying pan.
Light it and move back (or the other way round).
Add two cups of quality rice (for paella) and some salt. Carefull, as seafood is already salty, and so is the stock.
Remove chilis. Stir a couple of minutes. Add a glass of white wine. It shoould sissle. Let it evaporate.
Add a glass of seafood stock (or fish stock). Let it absorb. Add another. And another, till you have used a litre more or less. You can add some water at the end if you run out of stock.
It needs to cook slowly for 20-25 miutes. The rice should be a bit watery. Then you add the crayfish and the lobster. Turn off heat. Leave to rest 15 minutes under lid.
Decorate with some freshly chopped parsley, serve with a smile and be ready for the oohs and the aahs!.
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