LOBSTER JUS UNDER A LIGHT CLOUD OF BITTERSWEET CHOCOLATE

Serves 6–8

Prep time 40 minutes

Cook time 10 minutes

Freeze time 20 minutes

lobster cooking liquid

3 live lobsters, each weighing about 14 oz. (400g)

6⅓ pints (3 litres) water

5 star anise

1 level tsp black peppercorns

1 level tsp piment d’espelette

• Prepare the lobsters. Place the lobsters in the freezer for about 20 minutes. During this time, bring the water to the boil with the spices. Drop the sleeping lobsters into the boiling water and cook for 10 minutes. Remove them and leave to cool for about 15 minutes, then extract the flesh. Keep the carcasses for the reduction.

lobster reduction

1 fennel bulb

1 leek, white part only

3 carrots

1 head of garlic

1 onion

1 celery stick

1 sprig thyme

7 tbsp (3½ oz./100g) unsalted butter, well chilled and diced

3½ oz. (100g) tomato paste (concentrate) 2 tomatoes salt to taste

• Prepare the lobster reduction. Wash, peel, and cut all the vegetables for your aromatic garnish. In a sauté pan, gently fry the lobster carcasses with the aromatic base in butter. Make sure they are well cooked, but they must not burn as this would give the reduction an unpleasantly bitter taste. Stir in the tomato paste and simmer for a few minutes. Cut the tomatoes into quarters, add them to the pan, and cover with water. Season with salt. Reduce by half, filter, pressing down hard on the carcasses. Take the reduction and reduce it by a further one-third. Adjust the seasoning and incorporate the chilled, diced butter with an immersion blender.

lightly whipped cream with bittersweet chocolate

3½ oz. (100g) bittersweet chocolate, 70 percent cocoa

1¼ cups (300ml) whipping cream • Prepare the lightly whipped cream with bittersweet chocolate. Chop the chocolate and melt it slowly in a bain-marie or in the microwave oven (on “defrost” or at 500W maximum, stirring from time to time). Lightly whip the cream. Carefully fold the whipped cream into the melted chocolate and reserve in the refrigerator.

garnish ground piment d’espelette

• Slice the lobster flesh and place the slices in small bowls. Half fill them with the hot lobster reduction. Add a tablespoon of cold whipped cream with chocolate. Sprinkle with a pinch of ground piment d’espelette and serve hot.

Chef’s notes

• Check that the cooking liquid is well seasoned so that the lobsters acquire a good flavour during the cooking. The contrast between the hot lobster jus and the cold whipped cream is a tantalizing surprise. Make sure that you allow the jus to reduce sufficiently to create a strong contrast with the chocolate-flavoured whipped cream.