Special Recipes
By Carole Kotkin

Florida Lobster Stew
adapted from a recipe by Executive Chef Hubert des Marais, Four Seasons Resort, Palm Beach, Florida

Chef des Marais encourages the home cook to expand upon his sumptuous lobster stew: "I would guess that almost any place near a large body of water has some sort of seafood stew in its cooking repertoire, and Florida is no exception. Almost anything goes as far as ingredients are concerned.

So feel free to add or subtract according to what you like and what's best at the market."

2 Florida lobsters, flesh removed from the shell and cut into chunks, shells reserved (substitute with Maine or African lobster)
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup diced red pepper
1/2 cup diced yellow pepper
1/2 cup diced green plantain (or potato)
1/2 cup diced yuca (or potato)
1/2 cup diced boniato (or sweet potato)
1 cup sliced okra
Scotch bonnet pepper to taste (or other chili pepper)
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 cup diced onion
1/2 cup dry sherry
4 cups lobster broth (recipe follows)
1 pound mahi mahi or other white fish cut into 4 ounce portions
1/2 cup fresh corn kernels
6 tablespoons cilantro leaves
1 teaspoon thyme leaves
6 tablespoons fresh lime juice
Salt and pepper to taste
1 ear corn, cut into 4 pieces
For the lobster broth:

Lobster shells and bodies
1 medium onion, roughly chopped
4 bay leaves
Place lobster shells in a large saucepan and barely cover with water. Add onion and bay leaves. Bring to a boil, skim and reduce heat to simmer. Simmer for about 45 minutes. Strain.

Heat butter in a soup pot. Add peppers, plantain, yuca, boniato, okra, chili pepper, garlic and onion. Sauté over medium heat until tender, but not browned.

Deglaze pan with sherry. Add lobster broth and bring to a simmer. When root vegetables are tender, about 20 minutes, add lobster meat and mahi mahi to the broth, along with corn kernels, corn on the cob, cilantro, thyme and lime juice. Add salt and pepper to taste. Simmer until lobster meat and mahi mahi is cooked, about 3 to 4 minutes. Serves 4.

Pair with a rich Australian Chardonnay




Article first published in The Wine News

 

Food Editor Carole Kotkin is a Miami-based cooking instructor and consultant who co-authored Mmmmiami - Tempting Tropical Tastes for Home Cooks Everywhere. It provides clear, simple directions for 150 dishes, from the simple (good old Key Lime Pie) to the sublime (Coconut Mahi-Mahi with Passion Fruit Sauce). The wide array of flavors is especially wonderful and startling to those used to monocultural cooking; Miami cuisine is the product of many generations of interbreeding and hybrid vigor. Click on the link below for more details or to order.

Mmmmiami : Tempting Tropical Tastes for Cooks Everywhere

See Also

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Sydney's Cosmopolitan Cuisine
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Eat Your Vegetables!
Pairing Wine with Plant-Based Cuisine
By Carole Kotkin & Fred Tasker

 

All articles courtesy of The Wine News