INGREDIENTS
• 1 live European lobster - 500g approx
• 40g butter
• 40 ml olive oil
• 1 stem celery
• 1200 ml water• 1 medium fennel bulb with plenty of green sprigs
• 1 medium white onion
• 4 medium ripe vine tomatoes
• 1 medium unwaxed orange
• 1 king Edward potato, peeled
• 20 ml Pernod/pastis
• ½ tsp saffron
METHOD
1. Place the lobster in the freezer for 2 hours in order to kill it humanely.
2. Put the saffron in cup with 30 ml boiling water and leave to infuse.
3. Split the lobster in half. Remove the stomach sack from both halves of head and discard. Remove the vein running down the back and discard. Crack the claws in order to let steam escape when cooking. Remove the tomalley and coral from head and put in bowl
4. In a saucepan, melt the butter, then brush the meat side with a little of the melted butter. Place lobster, meat side up, under a hot grill and cook for 5 minutes, turn and cook the other side for a further 5 minutes.
Then allow to cool. Extract the meat from each side. Put the tail meat on a plate, adding any little bits of meat to a bowl. Crack the claws open, remove meat and put on plate, again adding little bits to the bowl.
5. In a heavy pan warm 30 ml of olive oil in the pan. Add lobster shells, 1 stem of celery and stir for 2 minutes. Add 1200 ml boiling water and simmer for 20 minutes with the lid on, stirring occasionally.
6. Cut the base off the fennel bulb. Remove and keep the green sprigs. Trim the tops of the bulb and remove outer layers to leave about 150g and chop finely.
7. Peel the onion, take 75g and chop finely.
8. Warm 10 ml olive oil and 20g butter in another pan and add the onion and fennel. Sweat gently for about 5 minutes. Remove from heat.
9. Put tomatoes in pan of boiling water for 30 seconds. Remove and refresh in cold water. Peel, deseed and chop tomatoes. Add to pan of onion and fennel.
10. Remove the lobster shell stock from heat and sieve into a measuring jug. Top up with water until you have a 1 litre. Add the zest and juice of ½ orange to the strained stock. Add to the fennel, onion and tomato with ½ teaspoon salt and freshly ground black pepper.
11. Select best pieces of tail and claw meat and reserve. Add the remainder to the bowl with the coral and tomalley from the head.
12. Cube the potato (approx. 1cm cubes) and add to the stock with 20ml of pernod and the saffron infusion and bring to boil. Reduce the heat and simmer until the potato is just tender. Add the coral, tomalley and chopped lobster. Season and add more pernod or orange juice to taste.
13. Warm the lobster tails in the steamer for a couple of minutes and then cut each tail into mouth sized pieces. With a ladle, pour servings of chowder into shallow, wide rimmed, starter sized bowls, placing the lobster meat in the centre and finish with a scattering of fennel sprigs and orange zest.
