Steingarten's Julia Child/Jacques Pepin Lobster Souffle

[Jeffrey Steingarten]

Steingarten's Julia Child/Jacques Pepin Lobster Souffle

Serves 8 as Appetizeror 4 as Main Dish.

• 4 lobsters, each 1 1/2 pounds, preferable female
  
• 6 T extra-virgin olive oil
  
• 1 medium onion (about 2 1/2 inches in diameter), peeled and chopped medium-fine
  
• 1/2 carrot, chopped medium-fine
  
• 1 large rib celery, chopped medium-fine
  
• 3 medium tomatoes, cored and chopped into half-inch pieces
  
• 2 heads of garlic, each cut in half crosswise but left unpeeled
  
• 2 T tomato paste
  
• 1 tsp fennel seeds, lightly crushed
  
• 1 c of cognac
  
• 2 generous cups dry white wine
  
• 8 c of salt-free chicken broth
  
• 4 slices lemon
  
• 1 large basil stem
  

salt and pepper

• 3 T butter for the bechamel, plus 2 Tbs. softened butter for the roe, plus 1 Tbs. for buttering the souffle dish
  
• 2 c heavy cream
  
• 4 T all-purpose flour
  
• 1-1/3 c milk
  

¾ tsp. salt

• 
  

½ tsp. white pepper

• 4 eggs yolks
  
• 8 egg whites
  
• 2 T grated Parmesan
  

For The Lobster and Lobster Jus

1. The day before you make the soufflé: Put the lobsters in paper bags in the freezer for a half-hour. Take out one, place it on the counter shell up (and feelers down) with the eyes facing towards you. Place the point of a heavy knife or cleaver where the large, rounded body shell (carapace) meets the tail, and drive the point into the shell as you forcefully bring the knife down and towards you, splitting the upper half of the lobster in one swift motion. Yes, you can do it! Repeat with the other lobsters. (This procedure is probably the most humane way of killing a lobster, especially if you halve the tail at the same time. To do this you would use a longer knife and start instead at the head. Lobster lack centralized brains; halving them in one stroke cuts through all eight ganglia. But in this recipe, we do not want to cut the tail and its shell in half.)

2. (If you wish to postpone the day when you master the method in the previous paragraphs, simply steam the whole lobsters in a large stockpot as described below, but only until they stop moving and turn at least partially red.)Wait until the lobsters stop moving before proceeding. Twist off the tails and claws (leaving behind the joints or knuckles—the arm sections of the claws) and put them in one or more plastic bags. Refrigerate. Collect in a bowl all juices that emerge from the lobsters, now and after steaming.

3. Prepare the halved lobster bodies one at a time. Behind the eyes and continuing an inch or so back, right under the top edge of the shell, just where you’ve split it, is the translucent stomach sac. You may have cut it in half or pushed it entirely to one side of the body or the other when you split it. Pry it out with your fingers and discard. The light green or tan creamy material vaguely in the center is the tomalley, the liver—just leave it where it is. The dark green shiny stuff in female lobsters is the roe or coral (so named because it turns a brilliant coral color when you cook it). With a spoon, remove every last bit of the dark green roe and save it in a bowl. It is indispensible.

4. Chop the lobster shells, arms, joints, legs, and so forth into one-inch pieces. This is messy, too. In a heavy eight-quart saucepan or casserole set over a medium-high flame, heat four tablespoons of the olive oil and cook the chopped lobster shells, arm joints, and legs, and any available scraps of lobster meat in it, until the shells take on a roasted aroma and color, 10 to 15 minutes. While they are cooking, alternately stir them and, with a large stone or wooden pestle, crush them further.

5. Meanwhile, heat the two remaining tablespoons of olive oil in a four-quart saucepan, add the onions, carrot, celery, and garlic, stir, lower the heat to medium-low, and cook until they have become translucent but have not taken on color. Add the tomato paste and and cook for about ten minutes.

6. Scrape the vegetables and their liquid into the heavy pan in which you cooked the lobster shells and mix together. Add the fennel seeds. Pour in the cognac and turn the heat to medium-high. If the cognac is of high quality, just cook it down until only a few tablespoons are left; if not, ignite it as soon as it begins to bubble and, shaking the pan, let it nearly boil away. Add the white wine and reduce by half, stirring occasionally. Add the chicken stock and cook, partly covered, at a strong bubble, for twenty-five minutes. (As most recipes for fish brother will tell you, cooking for longer than this will produce a bitter taste. That’s what Didier says, too.) Remove from the heat.

7. Using a pair of tongs, discard any large pieces of shell. Strain the rest through a fine sieve—a conical chinoise is ideal—into a two-quart saucepan, pressing the pieces of shell and vegetables to squeeze out every drop of lobster jus. Lay the lemon and basil on the surface, allow to steep for fifteen minutes, and remove them. Add a quarter cup of liquid you’ve collected from the lobster bodies. Remember? (The sand should have gone to the bottom of the bowl; otherwise, first strain the lobster liquid through the finest mesh.)

8. Reduce the jus to 3 cups. Add fresh black pepper to taste and, if it is necessary, salt. Refrigerate overnight.

9. Meanwhile, steam the four lobster tails and eight claws you’ve stored in the refrigerator: Pour an inch or so of water into the bottom of a twelve- to fifteen-quart stockpot, and set over the highest heat. Put one of those petal-shaped steaming racks or similar device into the water to keep the lobster pieces from boiling instead of steaming. When the water is furiously boiling, put in the lobster pieces, cover, lower the heat a bit, and steam for ten minutes. (Subtract any time that you’ve steamed the whole lobsters if you were too squeamish to cut them in half, alive.) Quickly remove the lobster with a pair of tongs, let cool for a few minutes, and remove the meat from the shells. Store the lobster meat in a plastic bag in the refrigerator and discard the shells.

For the Souffle

1. Wrap these lobster piece in a sheet of aluminum foil and return it to the refrigerator.

2. Rub and scrape the reserved roe through a sieve. Whisk it smooth with two tablespoons of softened butter.

3. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Butter the gratin dish.

4. To make the sauce: In a two-quart saucepan over medium-high heat, reduce the cream by half. Add the jus, and bring to a simmer. Lower the heat and whisk in the roe-butter mixture. Cook without boiling for a few minutes until the roe is incorporated and colors the sauce pink. Remove from the heat. Taste and add salt and fresh pepper, if you think they would improve the situation.

5. To prepare the souffle base: Melt the butter in a two- to three-quart saucepan over medium-low heat, and add the flour. Cook, stirring constantly, for five minutes, to cook the flour, which has been accomplished when the flour glistens as the butter separates; the flour must not color. Add the milk all at once, bring to a boil, stirring, and cook for ten seconds. (This is Jacques’s astoundingly simple method.) Remove from the heat and let cool for a few minutes. Whisk in the egg yolks and the grated Parmesan.

6. Making and baking the souffle: Whisk (by hand or in a mixer) the egg whites until they begin to foam. Add a good pinch of salt and the cream of tartar. Whisk more vigorously until the egg whites form firm peaks. Stir about one-fourth of them into the souffle base. Delicately fold this mixture back into the eggwhites. Pour and scrape into the gratin dish and smooth the top, which should come to the rim.

7. Put into the preheated oven and bake for about twenty-five minutes. It is done when a thin knife slid into its center comes out nearly clean except perhaps at the point. This is not a liquid souffle. When the souffle has about ten minutes left to cook, put the aluminum foil packet of lobster meat into the oven with it. Warm eight wide soup bowls or deep dinner plates. When the souffle is nearly done, gently reheat the sauce—without boiling it.

8. To serve, distribute the lobster meat equitably among the eight soup bowls. Pour a scant quarter-cup over each portion. Set ample servings of souffle over the lobster, then pour a few tablespoons of sauce over the souffle. Pass the rest of the sauce.

Keywords: French, Fish, Seafood

( RG805 )