Lobster with Carrot, Citrus and Tandoori Spices Recipe

This lobster recipe pairs the luxurious shellfish with a citrus-infused carrot purée, verdant coriander oil and rich chicken jus. Gently warming the lobster meat in a tandoori-spiced butter adds a subtle warmth, resulting in an incredible dish that's well worth the effort. Make the butter, jus, oil and purée in advance to keep things simple when it comes to serving.

Ingredients

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Lobster

10 lobsters
1kg unsalted butter
20g of sea salt
20g of tandoori masala, sometimes known as tandoori spice powder

Citrus reduction

Carrot purée

500g of carrots
1 dash of vegetable oil
500g of carrot juice
4g of sea salt

Coriander oil

120g of grapeseed oil
80g of fresh coriander

Cider vinegar reduction

200g of cider vinegar
20g of shallots
5g of black peppercorns, ideally lampong peppercorns

Chicken jus

2kg chicken wings
2l chicken stock
100g of unsalted butter
2 shallots
3 garlic cloves
2 sprigs of fresh thyme

Beurre noisette

100g of unsalted butter

To garnish

coriander cress
1 purple carrot, shaved into very fine discs
carrot tops
coriander leaves
1 spring onion, very finely sliced

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Bamboo skewers
Steam oven or steamer
Vacuum bag and machine
Cooking thermometer
Muslin cloth

To prepare the lobsters, remove the tails and claws from each body. Locate the dark digestive tract in the tails, very gently pull them out, and discard. Insert a bamboo skewer into each cavity to keep the tails straight during cooking. Reserve the lobster heads and bodies to make a lobster butter

10 lobsters

Cook the tails in boiling salted water for 5 minutes, then refresh in iced water. Cook the large crushing claws for 6 minutes, and the smaller pinching claws for 4 minutes. Refresh the claws in iced water

Carefully remove the shells and cartilage from both the tail and the claws, keeping the shells for the lobster butter. Wipe away any coagulated protein from the meat and reserve in the fridge along with the tails

To make the lobster butter, take the raw lobster heads and split into their two major parts. Remove the brain and any remaining coral, reserving 20g of the coral to one side. Place 1kg of the reserved shells in a large pan with the butter

1kg unsalted butter

Preheat a steam oven to 90°C at 100% steam, or a water bath to 90°C. You could also use a regular steamer, provided you keep an eye on the temperature with a temperature probe and ensure it remains at around 90°C throughout the cooking process

Using a large, powerful stick blender, blitz together the shells and butter (you can also use a blender if your stick blender isn’t powerful enough). Once it has been mixed, add the salt, tandoori powder and the reserved 20g of coral. Transfer the mixture to vacuum bags, seal using a chamber sealer and cook in the steam oven or water bath for 80 minutes

20g of sea salt
20g of tandoori masala, sometimes known as tandoori spice powder

Meanwhile, prepare the citrus reduction and carrot purée. Juice all of the citrus fruits for the reduction and pass through a sieve into a pan. Reduce at a simmer until it is a syrupy consistency, but don’t allow to caramelise. Set aside

Peel and slice the carrots for the purée and add a dash of oil to a pan. Cook the carrots until softened slightly, then add the carrot juice. Bring to the boil then cook until the carrots are tender throughout. Transfer the carrots and the carrot juice to a blender, blitz until smooth then pass through a fine sieve. Season with some of the citrus reduction and salt to taste

500g of carrots
1 dash of vegetable oil
500g of carrot juice
4g of sea salt

When the lobster butter is ready, remove from the bag and strain immediately into a pan. Keep the butter at 50°C – this will later be used to reheat the lobster. If preparing ahead of time, allow to cool and store in a fridge until needed, then reheat for service

To make the coriander oil, blend the coriander leaves and oil together. Transfer the blended pulp to a saucepan and cook over a high heat for 1-2 minutes, to evaporate any water. Immediately pass through a sieve lined with muslin cloth into a metal bowl set over ice

120g of grapeseed oil
80g of fresh coriander

To make the cider vinegar reduction, slice the shallots and add to a pan with the vinegar. Simmer until reduced by two-thirds, then remove from the heat and add the peppercorns. Allow to cool

200g of cider vinegar
20g of shallots
5g of black peppercorns, ideally lampong peppercorns

To make the chicken jus, chop the chicken wings into rough 2cm pieces (you can ask your butcher to do this for you if you don’t have a strong enough knife). Fry off in a pan until golden brown, then add the shallots, garlic, thyme and the butter, and continue to cook until the shallots are soft and translucent. Deglaze with the chicken stock, cook for 30 minutes, then pass through a fine sieve lined with muslin into a clean pan. Reduce to a syrupy consistency and add the vinegar reduction bit by bit, tasting regularly, until you're happy with the flavour

2kg chicken wings
2 shallots
3 garlic cloves
2 sprigs of fresh thyme
100g of unsalted butter
2l chicken stock

To make the beurre noisette, gently melt the butter in a saucepan. Continue to cook until it’s golden brown and has a nutty aroma, then pass through a fine sieve into a metal bowl set over ice to chill quickly

100g of unsalted butter

You now have all the elements ready to begin serving. Gently reheat the carrot purée and chicken jus, and ensure your lobster butter is at 50°C. Add the lobster tails and claws to the butter and allow to heat through – this should take 15 minutes

Combine the warmed chicken jus, brown butter, coriander leaves and sliced spring onion to a saucepan and stir to combine, creating a garnished sauce

coriander leaves
1 spring onion, very finely sliced

To plate, add one large quenelle of carrot purée towards the bottom of the plate, and a smaller one just above. Using the edge of the spoon, make a small well inside the larger quenelle of purée. Fill with the coriander oil

Arrange the carrot shavings, coriander cress and carrot tops on top of the purée. Remove the lobster from the lobster butter and season with a little sea salt. Remove any excess butter from the bottom of the lobster by lightly resting it on some kitchen paper, then arrange a tail and pieces of claw on each plate next to the purée. Spoon over some of the sauce and serve

coriander cress
1 purple carrot, shaved into very fine discs
carrot tops

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Hélène Darroze

As a fourth-generation chef, cooking was always going to be in Hélène Darroze’s blood. Now at the helm of two Michelin-starred restaurants (one in London, one in Paris), she divides her time between the two to create inimitable dishes inspired by her southwestern roots and pushes the boundaries of what fine French cuisine can be.

Lobster with carrot, citrus and tandoori spices

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