AUTEED FLORIDA LOBSTER with Citrus, Wild Mushrooms, and Roasted Peppers in a Sauternes Butter Sauce
When Louie's Backyard was awarded four stars by the Miami Herald, this dish was one of the most popular items on the menu. (If Florida lobster is unavailable, you can use shrimp, or Maine lobster.)
Serves 4
SAUCE
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 shallots, peeled and chopped 6 whole black peppercorns
1 bay leaf
4 basil leaves
6 tablespoons (% stick) butter Four l'A-pound fresh lobsters, heads removed, cut in half lengthwise, shells and veins removed, seasoned with sea salt and cracked black pepper
1 tablespoon finely chopped shallots l'/г cups large slices of wild mushrooms such as shiitake, oysters, or trumpets
V2 bottle Sauternes (about 12/з cups) Ч2 cup heavy cream 1 pound butter, cut into small pieces and kept cold
¥4 cup Sauternes (Alexis Lichine is a moderately priced good choice) Sea salt and pepper to taste
1 cup roasted red bell peppers, cut into
fat strips % cup orange sections ¥з cup lime sections
1. Make the sauce: Heat the olive oil in a large, deep saucepan until very warm. Add the shallots, black peppercorns, bay leaf and basil and stir until shallots are softened. Add the Sautemes and reduce to Уз cup. Add the cream and reduce to V2 cup.
2. Lower the heat and whisk in the butter, bit by bit, until it is all incorporated. Strain through a fine-mesh strainer and set aside.
3. Over medium heat place a saute pan large enough to accommodate all of the lobster meat comfortably. Add the butter and let it melt.
4. Lay the lobsters in the pan and add the shallots. Lightly brown the lobster and shallots for about 2 minutes. Add the mushrooms and toss lightly. Add the Sauternes.
5. When the lobster is just firm, remove it to a cutting board. Reduce the liquid in the pan until it has almost evaporated, and hold it in a warm place for a moment. Then add the reserved butter sauce to the pan and mix with the mushrooms. Correct the seasoning.
6. Slice the lobster meat into angled sections.
7. Ladle the butter and mushroom sauce onto 4 warm plates. Arrange the lobster meat over the sauce. Arrange the roasted peppers and citrus sections over and around the lobster. Serve.
This wonderfully rich dish calls for extravagance, so I recommend either a full-bodied White Burgundy, suck as a Meursault from a good producer, or a big California Chardonnay.
1 AN-COOKED WHOLE YELLOWTAIL with Key Lime Butter and Basil
In the old days Key West vendors would hawk yellowtail on the streets in the early hours of the morning. The aroma of yellowtail being fried for breakfast was not far behind, for then it was considered a fish for the first meal of the day. Yellowtail is a very delicate, fine, white-fleshed fish. It should be absolutely fresh, for it deteriorates more quickly than most fish. For this recipe, you can substitute snapper if yellowtail does not reach your market. Regular limes lack the tart pungency of our Key limes, but you can use them if you must. The basil should be as beautiful as possible for the proper aesthetic effect.
Serves 4
4 yellowtail, IV4 to 1'/2pounds each, whole weight, cleaned, scaled, and dorsal fins cut out
V2 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon each sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper Clarified butter to saute the fish SAUCE
2 tablespoons olive oil V2 cup freshly squeezed Key lime juice
'/4 cup diced shallots Ч2 cup heavy cream
1 bay leaf 1 pound butter, cut into small pieces and 1 teaspoon cracked black peppercorns kept cold
36 basil leaves (reserve leaves for garnish, put stems in the sauce reduction)
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Make a series of three shallow incisions on both sides of each fish to allow the heat to reach into the interior.
2. Lightly dredge the fish in flour, tapping the fish gently to get rid of any excess. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Heat a saute pan large enough to accommodate the fish without crowding (use two pans if necessary). Get the pan very hot and add enough clarified butter to cover the bottom generously.
4. Now, one by one, grasp each fish by the tail and put them in the pan. Shake the pan a bit and when the fish are lightly browned, turn them gently with a spatula to brown the other side.
5. Drain off and discard any excess oil and place the pan(s) in the oven.
6. Make the sauce: Heat the olive oil in a saucepan on moderate heat. Add the shallots and stir about 30 seconds. Add the bay leaf and black peppercorns. Cook 30 seconds. Add basil stems and cook for 10 seconds.
7. Add the Key lime juice and reduce almost to a glaze. Add the heavy cream and reduce by almost half. Lower the temperature a little and whisk in the butter, piece by piece, until it is all incorporated.
8. Strain the butter sauce through a fine-mesh strainer and keep warm. (If you think it will take you longer than 10 minutes to make the sauce, you can make it before preparing the fish. Just keep it warm over hot but not simmering water in a double boiler.)
9. Bring a small pot of water to a boil on top of the stove. Blanch the basil leaves by placing them in a strainer and lowering them into the water for 5 seconds.
10. The fish should take about 10 minutes in the oven. When it is cooked, ladle XA cup of sauce on each plate. Place the fish on the plates, garnish with the basil leaves, and serve.