Kevin Myers serves up this fish starter.
Ingredients
- 2 live lobsters
- 6 medium size scallops
- 2 egg whites
- 2 tblsp finely diced carrot
- 2 tblsp finely diced onion
- 1 tblsp finely diced celery
- 1 tblsp butter
- 30 ml prossecco
- 1 tblsp finely chopped parsley
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
- for the pasta dough:
- 275 g pasta flour (00) sifted with
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 1 tblsp olive oil
- 2 whole free range eggs
- 3 free range egg yolks
- for the lobster foam:
- carcases from the cooked lobsters
- 3 tblsp olive oil
- 1 small carrot (chopped)
- 1 small onion (chopped)
- 1 celery stick (chopped)
- 2 tblsp cognac
- 100 ml prosecco
- for the breaded oyster
- 6 fresh oysters
- 1 free range egg
- 150 ml milk
- 100 g flour for dusting
- 100 g breadcrumbs
- 750 ml vegetable oil for frying
Method
- Place the live lobsters very quickly into a large pot of boiling water and cook over a high heat for 4-5 minutes, then remove from the water and leave to cool. Cut the lobsters open along the spine and extract the meat and chop finely (keep the carcases and juices for the foam)
- Remove the membrane and orange roe from the scallops and discard. Place the scallops in a food processor and purée with a little salt and pepper. Add the egg whites one at a time until well incorporated and set the mousse aside.
- To make the ravioli filling, heat the butter in a pan and sweat off the diced carrots, onion and celery for 2-3 minutes, then add the Prosecco to the pan, stir over the heat for another 1-2 minutes and remove from heat. Toss in the chopped parsley and set aside.
- Put the lobster pieces, the scallop mousse and the diced vegetables in a bowl, stir well and leave in the fridge to chill. Then shape into 12 small balls.
- To make the pasta dough, Place the flour in a bowl and make a well in the centre. Beat the whole eggs and egg yolks with the olive oil and pour into the well. Mix using your hands to form a ball of dough. Knead the dough for about 10 minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic. Then wrap the dough in Clingfilm and place in the fridge for at least 20 minutes.
- When the dough is chilled, pass it through a pasta machine until very thin. Then place the strips of dough onto a floured surface and cut out 24 4-inch rounds of pasta.
- Place a ball of the lobster mixture in the centre of 12 of the pasta shapes and brush the edges of the pasta with water and press the remaining rounds on top. Press the dough well around the filling so there are no air pockets inside.
- To make the foam, heat the oil in a large pan and sauté the broken lobster carcases for 1-2 minutes. Add the chopped carrots, onions and celery and sauté until golden brown. Deglaze the pan with the Cognac and Prosecco and add one litre of water and bring to the boil. Then reduce the heat and simmer for about 20-30 minutes until the liquid has reduced by at least half. Strain and place in a small saucepan and keep on a low heat.
- To make the breaded oysters, dip them into the flour and shake off any excess flour, then beat the egg and the milk and dip the oyster into that and finally dip it in the breadcrumbs coating it well. Shallow fry in the hot vegetable oil for about 1-2 minutes until golden and drain on some kitchen paper.
- Next cook the ravioli in boiling salted water for about 1 minute and remove with a slotted spoon and dip quickly in the hot lobster sauce and place two ravioli on each serving dish. Whisk the lobster sauce quickly and dap with some sauce and a little foam. Place the breaded oyster on top and serve immediately.
