We started our American immigrant adventure in New England over 20 years ago now, and living close to Boston we had the opportunity to experience the wonder of freshly caught Maine lobsters, simply poached and served with butter. Such a delicacy!
As a child, my experience was that lobster was only something you ate for very, very special occasions, and up until then I had only tasted a few times living in Ireland. I am thrilled to say that these cold water Lobsters from Maine are now shipped throughout the world, frozen, for us all to enjoy – and we should! Many of us are limiting the amount of trips we can take to the grocery store these days, so frozen produce that we can store away is a huge plus. It’s still a special splurge, but frozen lobster tails are reasonably priced and readily available.
To pair with the lobster, cauliflower is one of my favorite vegetables and it’s a lovely addition to this dish, especially when it’s caramelized with butter and pureed with cream. Lets not count the extra calories here though, shall we? The vegetable sauce is very bright but delicate enough not to overpower the delicious flavors of the lobster. Our family enjoyed this lobster for dinner last night and it is my joy to share this with our followers and my friends.
Hope you enjoy this recipe cooking from home:
Poached Lobster Tail with Cauliflower and Butter Sauce
- (for the lobster)
- 4 Fresh Cold Water Rock lobsters (defrosted at room temperature)
- 1 Tbsp of salt
- (for the sauce)
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 cup of onion
- 1 ¼ cups of carrots
- ¾ cups of celery
- ¼ cup of whiskey
- ¾ cup of water
- 2 Tbsp tomato puree
- 2 Tbsp of Tarragon (chopped)
- 2 Tbsp of butter
- 2 Tbsp cream
- 4 cloves of garlic
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- (for the caramelized cauliflower)
- 1 cauliflower (plus water to cover and cook)
- ½ cup of butter
- (for the puree)
- ½ cup of cream
- Kosher salt and pepper
How to make it
- Prepare a large pot of boiling water for the lobster and an ice bath. Plunge the lobster tails in for 30 seconds until the tail turns pink and then place them in to the ice bath. Let the lobster cool for a few minutes and then using scissors cut down the center of the lobster and remove the meat. Place the meat in the refrigerator.
- To make the sauce place the olive oil in a pan and add the onion, carrots and celery cooking until they are soft. Add the whiskey and reduce. Add the water and tomato puree and cook until the liquid has reduced by half. Remove from the heat, liquidize and then strain sauce.
- To prepare the cauliflower slice it into thick slices and keep the smaller pieces for the puree. Blanch the larger pieces in a small pot of boiling water and then plunge into an ice bath.
- For the cauliflower puree chop up the pieces and place in a small pot with a little water to cover and salt and cook until most of the water has evaporated and then stir in the cream and cook for a few more minutes. Remove from the heat and the puree in liquidizer or Vita-mix.
- Remove the lobster tails from the refrigerator and bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Poach the lobster for 4 minutes. Allow to rest for a few minutes.
- To serve the dish reheat the vegetable butter sauce and stir in the tarragon cooking for 1 minute. Lightly brown the cauliflower steaks in butter and then arrange it around the outside of each plat. Place the cauliflower puree in the center with the poached lobster on top and then pour the butter sauce over and serve right away.
Stay Home and Safe!
Shamrock and Peach (Judith)