Maine Lobster Ragout with
Grilled Fennel
- 16-ounces cooked Maine lobster meat
1 fennel bulb
1 red bell pepper
1 yellow bell pepper
Olive oil to coat the vegetables
2 tablespoons minced shallots
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 cup Maine lobster stock or clam juice
Pinch saffron
1/4 cup whipping cream
1 (19-ounce) can chopped plum tomatoes
1 bay leaf
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley
- Cut the lobster meat into bite-sized pieces
and set aside in the refrigerator.
- Cut the fennel bulb into quarters, brush
with olive oil and grill over a medium-hot flame until fork tender.
(Fennel may also be roasted in a 450-degree oven for about 10
minutes.)
- Brush the peppers with olive oil and roast
in a 450-degree oven until the skin blisters. Place the peppers
in a paper bag and let cool, about 15 minutes.
- Under running cool water, remove the skins
and discard the seeds and the stems. Strain and reserve the liquid.
- Cut the peppers and the fennel into julienne
strips.
- In a large saucepan, sauté the
shallots in 1-tablespoon olive oil. Add the white wine and cook
until reduced by half.
- Add the lobster stock, saffron and cream.
Add the tomatoes and the bay leaf and simmer gently for about
5 minutes. Season to taste with sea salt and freshly ground pepper.
Remove the bay leaf.
- Add the fennel, lobster meat and peppers
and reserved juice and gently heat through. Use caution not to
boil the mixture, as the lobster will become tough.
- Ladle the Maine Lobster Ragout into four
bowls, garnish with freshly chopped parsley and serve with some
crusty bread.
Makes 4 servings.
Nutritional analysis per serving: 286 calories, 28 grams protein, 16 grams carbohydrates,
11 grams fat, 848 mg. sodium, 4 grams fiber.
Recipe provided courtesy of Maine Lobster Promotion Council.