Lobster Risotto

Having a lobster man as your husbands best friend for life has it's advantages. In exchange for small services rendered (carpentry talents), my husband is sometimes the recipient of freshly caught lobsters. When a lobster man catches lobsters and a lobster is missing one claw or has a severely under developed second claw it is called a cull lobster and the value of the lobster goes down. Lucky for us there were two cull lobsters in his last catch and we were the lucky ones to receive them.

Before we get into the recipe I have to say that whenever we do have lobsters I save the water they are cooked in or I save the shells in a bag in the freezer. Just like shrimp shells you can use these as the base for your seafood, or in this case lobster stock. I like to add black whole peppercorns and some bay leaf to my shells when cooking up the stock. For me I already had containers of lobster stock in the freezer from previous lobsters. If you have lobsters for dinner, save the shells and make the stock and then when and if you have left over lobster meat make this beautiful risotto for dinner.

If you are unsure of how to cook lobsters I found this at Gilmore Lobster.com so you will know how to properly cook lobsters. You may want to keep this.

"Live lobsters should be kept cold until you’re ready to cook them; although they can survive several days in open air as long as they are kept cool and their gills remain moist, we recommend that you cook them as soon as possible. Do not place them in fresh water (as in the bath tub), because fresh water kills them. 
To Boil: Fill a large kettle 1/4 full of water, allowing about 2 1/2 quarts of water for each lobster. If sea water is not available, add two tablespoons of salt for each quart of water. Bring the water to a boil. Put in the live lobsters one at a time and return to boil. Cover kettle and simmer about 10 minutes for 1 pound hard-shell lobsters. Add 3 minutes per pound for each additional pound.When the antennae pull out easily, the lobsters are done. 
To Steam: Put about 2 inches of salted water in the bottom of a large kettle. Bring to a rolling boil and put in the live lobsters, one at a time. Cover kettle,return water to boil and begin timing. Allow 13 minutes for 1 pound hard-shell lobsters. Add 3 minutes per pound for each additional pound. When the antennae pull out easily,the lobsters are done."

• 8 cups seafood stock (lobster or shrimp)
• 2 cups arborio rice
• lobster meal - tail and claws - cut up
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 1/4 cup diced onion (small)
• 2 garlic cloves - minced
• 2 tbsp. butter
• 1 tbsp. olive oil
• salt to taste
• black pepper to taste
• fresh chopped parsley (optional)

1. Begin by preparing your lobster stock or shrimp stock. You'll need just about 8 cups total and the stock must be kept warm while making the risotto.
2. Prep your onion and the garlic cloves and chop up the picked out lobster meat - you can make the pieces any size you like.
3. In a large skillet - 12 inches diameter and over medium heat melt the butter and the olive oil. Add in the onion and garlic. Keep stirring until you smell the aroma of the garlic.
4. Then add in the wine and stir and reduce over medium high heat until about half has evaporated.
5. Add in the rice and stir well. Add some salt and ground black pepper to taste. Keep your heat at medium to medium high during the whole process.
6. Next, add in a ladle full of hot stock to the pan and keep stirring until the liquid is 3/4 absorbed then add another ladle full. Keep doing this until the risotto is just about done. You will use most all of the stock. And this process takes a while.
7. Just before the risotto is done (about two minutes shy), add in the cooked lobster meat and keep stirring until it's blended in and let cook until the lobster is warmed through. (In our case I was starting with cold lobster.)

We served our risotto with a saute of summer squash, onions and peppers. Recipe in another post.