I know in the past I wrote I enjoy making over recipes from magazines. Perhaps I didn’t explain it enough. I actually love magazines, probably too much. I cut out and collect recipes. Then I end up finding them in odd places throughout the house.
So, at the beginning of the year I saw lobster was on sale – WHAT?! I was all over it. The beginning of the year everyone is trying to cut the fat after indulgent holidays. Their attempted loss is my huge freezer gain. I normally don’t buy decadent cuts of meat, unless they’re on sale. I have extra freezer space specifically for sale items. I've only purchased lobster tail and made it at home twice that I can think of... and this counts as number 2. I think I will remember to do this more often!!
Earlier this month I saw Simple Lobster Risotto in the Cooking Light magazine and thought – "phsht! I could make that." So I did. This wouldn’t be a bad Valentine’s Day dinner or an anniversary night dinner, in case anyone needs hints on what to make. My 8 year old calls this “crab butt” because he saw the tails when I bought them and then when I cooked them. He tried it and gave it two enthusiastic thumbs up. I don’t blame him – it was pretty tasty.
The key to good risotto seems to be to keep adding liquid (in small amounts) until the "rice" (in this case, cauliflower) can't hold anymore liquid. So here's my low-carb recipe:
1 head of cauliflower, ran through a food processor to make faux-rice.
1 carton (or 4 cups homemade) chicken broth/stock
3 lobster tails
4 TBSP butter (or more)
1 package of frozen Asparagus tips (not on sale until spring, but you could use chopped broccoli instead)
I cooked the cauliflower on the stove with a big heap of butter to soften it. Then I ran it through the food processor. At the same time I put a carton of broth and 1 1/2 cups of water on the stove to boil. When it started boiling I added the lobster to cook for 4 minutes. (It says to cover it, which I did for about 3 minutes. The last minute when the pot was over boiling I tilted the lid a bit to let some steam out.)
I fiddled with the cauliflower for at least 5 more minutes before removing the meat from the tails. The tails weren't cooperative as I pulled the meat out so I broke them up as I went and put them back in the pot of broth. You're actually adding the shells to the broth to give the broth a light seafood taste, and I believe the shells give the broth more nutrients too. However, the instructions said to smash them with a mallet after putting them in a plastic bag. I skipped that step. I let the broth simmer for 20 minutes with the shells.
At this time I did some dishes. I also cut up the lobster into bite size pieces and set it aside. I also lightly sauteed some broccoli with butter to add at the end. You could use asparagus but Reece isn't fond of asparagus.
Once the timer is done you need to strain the broth and reserve the broth. Discard the solid matter. Then you put the buttered cauliflower "rice" in the pan with 1 cup of broth and cook for 5 minutes while stirring. You'll notice that the "rice" will soak up the broth. Repeat this step again. The liquid needs to be completely absorbed before you add more. The recipe says it will take 22 minutes. I think it took about 10 because I could only add so much liquid before the "rice" couldn't take anymore.
Once you get to that point, remove the rice from the heat and add in lobster and the other vegetable. Serve in bowls with a nice size spoon. Now that you've mastered simple "risotto," let's find that complicated one!
Food porn:
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