Roast lobster tails with egg noodles, artichoke and lobster mousse and coral sauce

The recipe here is for four portions. In a working restaurant, batches of the mousse, noodles and sauce could be prepared in advance and the dish finished to order.

Ingredients

(four portions)

For the egg noodles
200g "00" pasta flour
1 medium egg plus 1 yolk
2tbs water
Salt
20g butter

Method

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pic 9

Make a supple dough with flour, egg, water and a pinch of salt (pic 9). Roll out to "3" on the pasta machine and cut as noodles. Boil individual portions to order for about three minutes in salted water, drain and toss in butter. ### ### Killing and chopping the lobsters ### Ingredients 4 x 600g lobsters

pic 10

Lay the lobster flat on the chopping board. Put the tip of a sharp chopping knife at a point in the middle of the carapace. The blade's edge should point towards the head. Split the lobster (pic 10) in a single cut to a spot between the eyes. Break off the tail. Split the rest of the carapace. Pull off the claws. Extract the gritty stomach sac behind the eyes. Extract the tomalley in the carapace and reserve for the sauce. ### ### Sautéing and roasting This step includes elements for preparing the sauce and the lobster mousse. It is easier if you work with two pans at first and then finish the sauce in a single pan. ### Ingredients 60ml olive oil 70g chopped onion 70g chopped carrot 70g chopped leek 2 sprigs parsley 2 star anise 1tsp black peppercorns Zest of 1 orange 2 garlic cloves 4 chopped raw lobsters (see above) ### Method

pic 11

Heat the oil in two large sauté pans. Add half the vegetables (mirepoix) to each pan. As soon as they sizzle, stir in parsley, star anise, peppercorns, orange peel, garlic cloves and lobster. Keep the claws together if you can. Sauté for only two minutes (pic 11) - the lobster should only just start to colour. Transfer the lobster and vegetables to a roasting tin or tins. Roast the lobster for 10 minutes in a very hot oven (230°C).

pic 12

After three minutes only, remove the claws. Shell them. The meat should still be almost raw. Using kitchen scissors (pic 12), cut open the underside of the lobster tails, extract them, pull out the intestines and reserve. ### ### ### Making the artichoke and lobster mousse ### Ingredients 150g artichoke bottoms, cooked for 20 minutes 100g reserved lobster clawmeat 1 egg yolk 1 scant tsp salt Ground white pepper Pinch cayenne pepper 100ml double cream Melted butter ### Method

pic 13

Purée the artichoke and lobster meat. Chill. Add yolk and seasonings. Blend. Add chilled cream, blend again and force the mousse through a hair sieve. Wrap foil over the base and outsides of four 5cm tartlet hoops. Brush the insides of the hoops and the foil base with butter. Pipe the mousse (pic 13) into the hoops. Smooth the surface. Stand in a shallow bain-marie and bake for 15 minutes in a hot oven (200°C). ### ### Making the sauce ### Ingredients Shells, mirepoix and pan juices from roasted lobsters 50ml Armagnac 150ml dry white wine 1tsp tomato purée 500ml fish stock 200ml double cream 2tbs Sauternes 3tbs raw tomalley Salt and pepper ### Method

pic 14

Transfer the shells, vegetables and pan juices back to a single large sauté pan. Turn up the heat, deglaze with Armagnac and dry white wine, scraping the pan thoroughly. Reduce by three-quarters. Add the tomato purée and fish stock. Boil and simmer for five minutes. Strain the juices (pic 14) through a chinois into a clean pan, pressing hard on the lobster shells.

pic 15

Add the cream, Sauternes and tomalley (pic 15).

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pic 16

Reduce to a light coating consistency. Season. Pass the sauce through a chinois (pic 16) or muslin. Keep hot. ### ### ### Assembly ### Ingredients (per portion) Frying oil 5 large cooked artichoke leaves 1 artichoke and lobster mousse 100g (approx) noodles 1 lobster tail 80ml (approx) lobster sauce Chervil ### Method Heat the frying oil to 170°C. Trim the artichoke leaves. Deep-fry them to give them a shine and drain on absorbent paper. Turn out the mousse on to a plate. Wind the noodles around it. Heat the lobster tail in the sauce. Lay it on top of the mousse. Spoon a generous amount of sauce on to the plate. Garnish with artichoke leaves and chervil.