Lobster Truffle Champagne Risotto

Description

Author: Lisa Newsome

Recipe type: fish or seafood dish/rice dish

Prep time: 30 minutes

Cook time: 60 minutes

Total time: 1 hour 30 minutes

Serves: 6

Ingredients

2 pounds lobster meat
8 cups lobster broth
4 cloves garlic
2 medium sweet onions
½ stick unsalted butter
freshly ground black pepper
truffle salt
truffle oil
2 cups arborio rice
⅔ bottle dry Champagne or Cava-Seco
zest & juice of 2 lemons
1 fresh black truffle

Instructions

Chop the lobster meat into bite-size chunks......do not cut the meat too small......you really want nice chunks of lobster in the risotto.
Bring the lobster broth to a boil, then reduce the heat to simmer.
Chop the garlic & onions. In a wide-base sauce pan or sauté pan, melt the butter & add a splash of truffle oil, about 2 tablespoons. Add the garlic & onions over medium heat. Sauté the vegetables until translucent. Add a few grinds of pepper & about a teaspoon of truffle salt. Sauté the salt & pepper with the vegetables.
Reduce the heat to medium-low. Add the rice to the pan, sautéing continuously. Add the champagne slowly while you continuously sauté the rice with the onions & garlic. Be sure to pour the champagne slowly so it doesn't foam. As you sauté, the rice will absorb the champagne.
Add the broth, one large ladle (about 8 ounces) at a time, being sure to allow the rice to completely absorb the liquid as you stir continuously.
About halfway through stirring, shave half the truffle into the risotto & stir well. Add the lemon zest & juice, then continue adding the broth. After about the sixth ladle of broth, taste the risotto......the rice will be hard. Continue adding the broth & stir continuously so that the liquid is fully absorbed by the rice. You will also notice the rice becoming translucent & creamy.
Before you add the last ladle of broth, add the lobster meat & truffle salt......combine well. Add the last ladle of broth, stirring continuously to fully absorb the liquid & develop the final creaminess & tenderness that creates a great risotto. Shave half the truffle into the risotto & stir well. Taste & add additional truffle salt & pepper as needed.
Serve the lobster truffle champagne risotto in pasta bowls & shave the remaining truffle on top of each serving of risotto.

"Easy" Pearls...

......the easiest way to purchase lobster meat is through Dorr Lobster......it takes 5 to 6 pounds of lobster to get 1 pound of lobster meat......it is worth just spending the money to not have to do all that work myself......think about it......at first, $49.99 sounds like a lot of money to spend, but if you live in the South like I do, you will spend easily $14 for 1 lobster......that means I would need to spend at least $70 just to get all the meat I need to make enough risotto for 3-4 people......and all the work is done......the 3-4 lobster tails, claws & knuckles come precooked & fresh frozen in vacuumed packages and they have over night shipping......buy $100 worth of lobster & the shipping is free......you need 2 pounds anyway for this recipe......go for it!
The "go-to" place for me for fresh truffles is Marx Foods…they have truffles from both Oregon as well as Europe, and the qualities & pricing are both amazing! I will purchase a little extra if I am splurging…I then take the extra truffle(s), immersing in arborio rice, then freezing both together…I then will use both the truffle & rice, as in this dish…I have been doing this for year…while you will not be able to shave the truffle, you can certainly chop & sauté the truffle, & its quality will be great…
For truffle salt, I prefer to order from Ritrovo, but many local stores carry this product…check with Williams-Sonoma, as many of their stores carry truffle salt…in Greensboro, Zeto…many vendors are keeping it in stock…
OpenSky carries truffle oil, as does Midtown Olive Press...