Lobster Tail Risotto

Lobster Tail Risotto with Asparagus

A few months ago, I purchased some more frozen lobster tails and after thinking for a while about I wanted to use them for, I finally settled on a risotto. I almost made it one weeknight, except that I came home to realize I had no parmesan cheese and really no desire to go to the store. In the end, I made it on a Saturday afternoon and since I had some extra time, I made a broth using the lobster tails instead of using the chicken broth I had gotten for it. The broth was very flavorful from just the tails, but if you are looking for a recipe using a whole lobster, you can find it on Stefan’s Gourmet Blog. While I was making this, I couldn’t stop thinking about Gordon Ramsay screaming at the Hell’s Kitchen contestants about burned/mushy/uncooked risotto 🙂 I know it’s for entertainment purposes, but I still can’t figure out why season after season after season, some contestants fail to properly cook scallops and risotto!!! Fortunately, all went well with my risotto, but I guess I didn’t have the pressure of Ramsay yelling at me 🙂

Ingredients (serves 2-3):

• 2 lobster tails (4-5 oz each), thawed
• 4 Tb butter
• 2 large shallots, chopped
• 3-5 sprigs of thyme
• 1 cup arborio rice
• 1/2 cup white wine
• several asparagus spears, ends snapped and cut into 1/2-1″ pieces
• 2 Tb parmesan
• salt and pepper

Bring 3 1/2 cups of water to boil. Add lobster tails and cook for about 5 minutes. Remove tails, let cool for a bit, cut in half using kitchen shears and then remove the meat. Chop meat into bite-size pieces and save for later.

Melt 2 Tb butter in a pot over medium heat. Add half the shallot and cook until translucent (5 min). Add lobster shells and cook until browned and fragrant (5-7 min). Add lobster cooking liquid, thyme, bring to a boil, cover and reduce to simmer.

making lobster broth

Simmer for 1-2 hrs. Season with salt and pepper. Strain broth and keep warm in a small saucepan.

Melt the remaining 2 Tb of butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add shallot and cook until translucent (5 min). Add rice and cook for a few minutes or until the edges are translucent, but the middle is still opaque (2 min). Add wine and cook until it is all evaporated. Add broth in 1/2 – 1 cup increments and cook until broth is absorbed. Add the asparagus with the last 1/2 cup of broth. Cook until the rice is tender, but still has a bite (~ 20 minutes total). Add lobster meat and cook until heated through (2-3 min).

lobster risotto

Add parmesan cheese and stir until melted. Adjust seasoning. Serve with additional parmesan cheese.

lobster tail and asparagus risotto

This was a lovely dish and I highly recommend making the stock if you have the time. The stock gave the risotto a lot of flavor!