Lobster Risotto in Coastal Maine
Downeast, it’s high summer, and we are in a parade of rental cars on a little road that winds through picturesque coastal towns. It leads us to a lobster shack out on the rocks. Oysters, clams, and crabs pile on the plates here, too. We’re feeling overwhelmed by so much beauty, so many shacks. The coastline swells with them. Tourists like us seek yet another Fisherman’s Platter, another perfect chowder. Haven’t we had enough seafood already? Is it OK to eat lobster three times a day? Why so many lobsters in this sea? The servers at the shack send us back to crack the boiled ones with a rock on the picnic tables. In my 20+ years of professional cooking with mallets, lobster crackers, and innumerable mangled wooden spoons, I have never found a better way to do it.
Watch this space for a full report on our lobster crawl. In October 2024, we hope to make it all the way up the coast of Maine and on to Nova Scotia, Canada. In the meantime, try the Lobster Risotto with your own fresh lobster.
Lobster Risotto
Ingredients
- 2 cups fish stock or Lobster Stock*
- 1 cup white wine
- 1 cup water
- 2 cups arriobotto rice
- 1 medium onion peeled and diced
- 1 medium shallots peeled and diced
- 1/2 cup celery sliced
- 1 cup cooked lobster meat
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- old bay seasoning - optional
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2 cup parmasean cheese, grated
- 1 cup chopped tomatoes
- 1 tablespoon parsley, chopped
- 1 tablespoon chives, chopped
Instructions
- Saute the onion, shallots, celery in the olive oil. When the vegetables are soft, add the rice about 1/2 cup at a time. Add 1 cup of the fish stock and stir while the rice absorbs it. Continue to add rice, then stock until all are incorporated. Add the wine, salt, pepper and seasoning and cook until rice is soft. Add lobster meat. Add the remaining ingredients and season to taste. Serve hot.**To prepare the lobster meat for this lobster risotto recipe: bring the large stockpot of water to a boil and plunge the live lobsters in headfirst. Cover the pot with a lid and cook the lobsters for about 12-15 minutes. They will be bright red. Remove them from the water with tongs. Use nutcrackers or lobster crackers (or, a big rock!) to open the shells and get lobster's tail and claw meat to use in the dish.Step-by-step video instructions:https://www.cozymeal.com/recipes/r/lobster-risotto
Notes
