Lobster Congee

SAVORY

Jun 4

Smoked Chestnut Consommé, Smoked Trout Roe, Basmati Rice, Sour Cream, Lime Zest

Chef Ryan Pfeiffer of Blackbird | Chicago
Yield: 4 to 6 servings

This dish started with the idea of congee, taking rice leftover from dinner and cooking it again in dashi. It’s, essentially, overcooked rice. The reason it’s appealing, my mother would make chicken paprikash with a broth of stock and sour cream. The rice she served with it was always way overcooked, and my brothers and I would fight for the rice and broth.

INGREDIENTS

Lobster:
1 lobster
Vinegar
Salt
Butter
Lemon juice

Lobster Stock:
Vegetable oil
½ head fennel, coarsely chopped
½ leek, white part only, coarsely chopped
1 small sweet onion, coarsely chopped
3 tablespoons tomato paste
5 sprigs thyme
1 bay leaf
2 cups dry Sherry
Salt
Sherry vinegar
Mirin

Smoked Chestnut Consommé:
1 pound chestnuts in husk
½ bulb fennel, coarsely chopped
½ leek (white part only), coarsely chopped
1 cup sugar
4 cups dry Sherry
4 sprigs thyme
1 bay leaf
Salt
8 egg whites

To Assemble and Serve:
Basmati rice cooked in lobster stock
Sour cream
Lime zest
Salt
Smoked trout roe

METHOD

For the Lobster:
In a large bowl of ice water, submerge lobster 30 minutes. Remove tail, claws, and knuckles from body; reserve carcass for stock. In a saucepan over medium heat, add enough water to poach tail and a little vinegar; season with salt. Poach tail 4 minutes, claws 3 minutes, and knuckles 1½ minutes; shock in an ice bath and cool. Remove meat from shells. In a sauté pan over medium high heat, combine butter, lemon juice, and lobster meat. Season with salt. When hot, juicy, and flavorful, remove from pan, and chop meat into bite-size pieces. Cover and refrigerate.

For the Lobster Stock:
In a large rondeau, heat oil sweat fennel, leek, and onion. When vegetables are soft and translucent, add tomato paste and cook until color deepens. Add reserved lobster carcass and toast until a bright red. Add thyme and bay leaf and deglaze with Sherry; reduce by half. Add enough water to cover lobster, bring to boil, decrease heat, and simmer 1½ hours, until lobster flavor is concentrated. Remove from heat, season with salt, vinegar, and mirin; chill.

For the Smoked Chestnut Consommé:
Prepare and heat a smoker. Clean chestnuts, reserving nuts and husks separately. Smoke chestnuts 1 hour. Repeat with husks and reserve separately. In a hot pot with oil, combine fennel, leek, and smoked chestnuts. Sweat until all their water evaporates. Increase heat, add sugar, and stir until caramelized. Deglaze with Sherry. Add thyme and bay leaf and reduce by half. Add water to cover, bring to boil, decrease heat, and simmer 1 to 2 hours, until flavor is concentrated. Season with salt, remove from heat, and cool to room temperature. In a Vitamix blender, finely chop husks. In a stand mixer fitted with a whisk, whip egg whites to soft peaks; fold in husks. Whisk husk mixture into chestnut broth; heat to a simmer. When a raft starts to form, break a small hole in the side of the raft to check for clarification. When the Consommé underneath the raft appears to be clear, strain through a chinois lined with a coffee filter.

To Assemble and Serve:
In a small saucepot, warm some of the Smoked Chestnut Consommé. In separate small saucepot, heat some Lobster Stock and add some rice. Mix vigorously to achieve a hot, creamy rice porridge. Add pieces of Lobster and heat through. Remove from heat, add a small amount of sour cream, and season with lime zest and salt. Transfer to a small bowl and garnish with plenty roe. Pour hot Smoked Chestnut Consommé around the congee.

Similar Recipes