Lobster & zucchini dish

We’re going to make a beautiful lobster dish! It only contains three components, but it’s so good! I’m going to show you how to prepare a lobster and then we’ll use the head to make a beautiful bisque hollandaise. We’re serving it with a zucchini and lobster rouleaux and a chili oil.

How to prepare and clean a lobster

Quickly insert a chef’s knife in the head of the lobster to kill it as humane as possible. Then twist the tail of the head and check the tail for any unwanted parts. If there are any shake them out so you don’t color the beautiful white tail meat. Keep the head in your fridge for the sauce. After that place the back of a spoon between the

meat and the shell of the tail to prevent it from curling up when cooking it. Now twist the claws of the head as well. Then season some boiling water with a generous amount of salt and boil the tail and claws. Boil them 1 minute for every 100 grams of whole lobster. The lobster weighed 500 grams, so I boiled it for 5 minutes. Once cooked directly cool the tail and claws down in ice water. Leave it for at least 5 minutes. After that pull the spoon out of the tail and squeeze the tail together to break the shell. Now peel away the shell and gently pull the tail out of the bottom. Then take the claws and separate the claws from the knees. Now wiggle the finger and gently pull it out to remove both swords. There are always a small and big one. Be sure you remove both. Then use the back of a thick knife to break the claw on both sides and gently pull the meat out of the shell. After, use a scissor to cut the knees open and gently take the meat out. You can also do this with a knife, but there’s a bigger chance you’ll damage the meat. Now cut the tail in half and pull the intestine out.

The lobster bisque

	The lobster head
2	carrots
2	celery sticks
1	onion
1/4	celeriac
300 grams	canned tomatoes
10	black pepper grains
12	coriander seeds
300 grams	white wine
3 sprigs	thyme
1 liter	water

First cut the lobster head in half and then cut it in smaller pieces. Now add a drizzle of oil to a hot pan and pan fry the lobster head on a medium heat till it has an even golden-brown color. Meanwhile cut the carrots in small pieces and do the same with the celery sticks. Then cut the onion in half, clean it and chop it. Now also clean the celeriac and dice it in big cubes. Once the lobster is golden brown add the vegetables and pan fry them for 5 minutes. Stir it every now and then. Then add the canned tomatoes, the black pepper grains and the coriander seeds. Pan fry it for another 5 minutes and then deglaze the pan with the white wine. Now reduce it till almost all the liquid has vaporized. Then add the water and the thyme and let this simmer on a low heat for 45 minutes. After that pass the broth through a fine sieve and let it drain for at least 30 minutes so you don’t waste a single drop. Keep the bisque in your fridge for later.

The zucchini & lobster rouleaux

1	green zucchini
1	yellow zucchini
	The lobster claws and knees
	Olive oil
	Lime zest

First cut two pieces out of the yellow zucchini and do the same with the green one. Then cut them lengthwise in four. Now cut the seeds off and then cut them in thin slices on a sharp mandolin. The slices need to be around 1 to 2 millimeters thin. Safe the trimmings for later. Once you’ve done that season some boiling water with salt and blanch the yellow zucchini first for 15 to 20 seconds. Then directly cool them down in ice water and do the same with the green zucchini. After that cut the white of all the zucchini trimmings and then cut it in small cubes also known as brunoise. Now blanch the zucchini brunoise for 30 seconds. Then drain the water and cool them down in ice water for 2 minutes. Then chop the lobster claws and knees into a nice tartare. Now add the brunoise to the lobster tartare. Then season it with a drizzle of olive oil, salt and the zest from a sixth of a lime. Mix it well. Now take the zucchini slices and lay them slice by slice on a piece of plastic foil. First the green, then the yellow and so on. Then cover your worktop with some plastic wrap and gently place the zucchini upside down on the wrap. Now remove the foil and spread the lobster tartare on the beginning of the zucchini. Then gently roll the zucchini in a tight roll. Use a dough scraper to make the roll even tighter and to press out any air. Then roll it up all the way. Now use the sides of the roll to keep the roll tight and make a knot on both sides. Trim the sides and then let it set in your freezer for 15 minutes. After that portion the rouleaux to the desired size and gently press the roll out of the foil. Lay them with the least pretty side down and keep them in your fridge for later.

The chili oil

400 grams	neutral oil (I use sunflower oil)
2 grams	cloves
2 grams	cinnamon
8 grams	star anise
5 grams	coriander seeds
8 grams	cardamom seeds
10 grams	garlic cloves
20 grams	korean chili flakes
8 grams	salt
10 grams	white wine vinegar

Pour the neutral oil in a saucepan, I use sunflower oil. Then also add the cloves, the cinnamon, the star anise, the coriander seeds, the cardamom seeds and the garlic cloves. Heat this up till the oil is 110 degrees Celsius and keep it at the temperature for 2 hours. Meanwhile mix the Korean chili flakes with the salt and while mixing also add the white wine vinegar. Then turn up the heat till the oil is 150 degrees Celsius and then pass it through a fine sieve on the bowl that’s filled with the chili flakes. Make sure the bowl is strong enough, otherwise use a metal one. Now transfer it into a preserving jar and then you can keep the oil in your fridge for many months.

The bisque hollandaise

140 grams	the lobster bisque
4 grams	salt
100 grams	egg yolk
50 grams	cold cubes of butter

Pour the bisque into a saucepan and also add the salt. Now bring this to a boil. Once it’s boiling turn down the heat and while blending add the egg yolk. Directly mix some air in the mixture as well. Then turn on the heat and while beating the mixture cook it till stiff peaks start to form. It needs to look like this. After that turn off the heat and add the cold cubes of butter. When necessary, add some salt for seasoning. Now pour the

hollandaise into a new pan to prevent the sauce from overcooking on the bottom and then it’s ready to be served.

How to finish the dish

First brush some of the chili oil on the lobster tail and place the lobster rouleaux next to it. Then cover it with some foil and slowly heat it up at 70 degrees Celsius for around 20 to 30 minutes. Now place both on the center of a plate and season them with some flaky salt. Then decorate the rouleaux with purple or green oxalis leaves and drizzle some more chili oil on top. Now finish it off with the delicious lobster hollandaise.