To make lobster stock after you have boiled some lobster, sauté the empty shells (remove all meat including knuckles and set aside, it’s a labor of love!) in oil and cooked them off . (Lobster flavor that you get from the shells only leaches into fat otherwise the ocean would taste like an intense fish broth.) If you can break them down a bit to get them into the oil that is best. Use the body of the lobster if you have it and be sure to scrape out and use the tomalley or eggs if they are there.
Add water, to 2 inches above the shells, with an onion, a couple bay leaves, if you have them, and simmer for about 30 minutes.
Yield: Serves 4
- ¼cup butter
- ¼cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 large or 2medium onions, finely chopped
- Salt
- 2cups Arborio or carnaroli
- Meat from 1 cooked lobster
- 2tablespoons minced chives
- ½cup grated Parm or I prefer a milder cheese with this like a gouda or non-stringy cheese
- About 6 cups lobster stock
In a medium pot, heat the stock and keep warm.
In a large, wide saucepan, melt the butter in the oil over medium-high heat. Add the onions and sauté until translucent, about 4 minutes. Add a large pinch of salt, then add the rice and stir constantly for about 2 minutes. Add enough broth to almost cover and simmer, stirring until the broth is almost absorbed. Add more broth, a cup at a time, allowing each addition to be absorbed before adding the next. Stir often. Cook until the rice is tender and the mixture is creamy, 20 to 25 minutes.
To finish stir in cheese and I like to stir in some of the chopped lobster meat at the very end to warm through and warm the remainder in some butter and top each plate with it along with some chives for color. Serve immediately and don’t forget to close your eyes for a few bites while enjoying it!