Recipe: Lobster Salad with Fennel
Ingredients
- For the lobster
- 2 gallons water
- 1 quart white wine vinegar
- 2 cups white wine
- 1 large carrot, 1/2-inch thick slices
- 1 medium onion, 1/2-inch thick slices
- 3 tablespoons black pepper, toasted
- Green tops from two fennel bulbs
- 2 lobsters (1-1/2 pounds each)
- 1 pound butter
- For the fennel
- 2 bulbs fennel
- 3 tablespoons good olive oil
- 1/2 cup Pernod
- Fine sea salt
- Fresh ground black pepper
Preparation
Combine all the above in a pot large enough to cook the two lobsters. Bring to a boil and allow to simmer for 30 minutes. Remove the solid items with a wire skinner and allow the liquid to return to a boil before cooking the lobsters.
To cook the lobsters, drop the claws in, wait two minutes and drop in the tails. Allow them to cook together for 7 minutes. Remove the lobster from the pot and put in an ice bath until thoroughly chilled. After removing the meat from the shells, they can be warmed gently in a small pot of beurre monte. To make the beurre monte, start with 2 tablespoons of water in a small pot, bring it to a boil and whisk in the butter, off the heat until all the butter is incorporated. Season to taste with salt and pepper. When warming the lobster, be sure to avoid boiling the beurre monte. This will break the sauce and make the lobster tough.
To make the fennel
Remove the cores and slice into 1/4-inch julienne. Sauté gently with olive oil in a flat bottomed pan over medium heat until tender. Be sure to season with salt and pepper early in the cooking. When the fennel is about half cooked, add the Pernod and continue cooking uncovered until tender. All the alcohol should have evaporated by then.