Lobster in Tomato Sauce with Saffron Rice
Submitted by alanspradlin
Lobster in tomato sauce with saffron rice: Mediterranean-style shelled lobster simmered in tomato, white wine, orange juice, fennel, and saffron, thickened with lobster coral and liver. A rustic European coastal seafood feast.
YIELD
4 servingsPREP
30 minCOOK
30 minREADY
1 hrsThis is a proper old-school Mediterranean lobster braise, the kind you’d find in a seaside Greek or Provencal taverna. The sauce is built layer by layer: slow-cooked onion and leek, blistered fresh and sun-dried tomatoes, a splash of white wine and orange juice, and a pinch of saffron bloomed in hot water for color and floral depth.
The signature move is using the coral (roe) and tomalley (the green liver) as a thickener. Pushed through a strainer and beaten with olive oil, then stirred back into the sauce, they turn the braising liquid silky and give it that unmistakable deep-sea richness you only get from whole lobster.
Fennel, parsley, and a touch of fresh mint finish the aromatics, more vibrant and herbal than a classic French lobster americaine. Serve spooned over saffron rice so every bit of that glossy, orange-flecked sauce gets soaked up.
Pro Tips
- Blanch live lobsters for only 1 minute, just enough to make them easier to cut. Longer and the meat starts to toughen before the braise.
- Crack the claws with a mallet rather than a knife, you want fractures that let the sauce penetrate but keep the shell intact.
- Bloom the saffron in hot (not boiling) water for at least 10 minutes before adding, cold water won’t release the color or flavor.
- Strain the coral mixture well to remove any shell bits, grit will ruin an otherwise silky sauce.
- Temper the coral puree with a ladle of hot sauce before stirring back into the pot, dumping cold puree into hot braise can curdle it.
Variations
- Substitute large shrimp or langoustines for a faster, more approachable version.
- Add a splash of ouzo or Pernod with the wine for a Greek-Provencal twist.
- Serve over couscous, orzo, or crusty bread instead of rice.
Ingredients
Directions
If you have live lobsters, plunge them into a pan of boiling water for 1 minute, then into cold water.
To prepare the lobsters, break off the claws and crack them open with a hammer.
Cut off the tip of the tail (with the fins), then sever the tail where it joins the head with a heavy knife.
Cut the tail into rings, slicing through the shell between the ribs.
Split the head open lengthwise with a hard blow of a knife and remove and discard the gritty stomach sac.
Pour the coral (if any) and the green matter (which is the liver) into a stainer over a bowl, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and reserve.
Put the saffron to soak.
In a heavy-bottomed pan big-enough to contain the lobsters and sauce, fry the onion and leek gently in 3 tablespoons olive oil until translucent.
Add the garlic, chopped tomatoes, tomato paste and liquid, wine, orange juice, and bay leaf.
Season and simmer, covered, for 15 minutes.
Add the fennel, parsley, mint, saffron and liquid, and lobster tail pieces and claws with their shells (but not the legs) and simmer, covered, for 10 minutes.
In the meantime push the coral and liver of the lobster through the strainer and beat the purie with the remaining olive oil.
When the lobster has simmered for 10 minutes, ladle out about 1 cup sauce and beat this into the coral purie.
Pour this back into the pot, stir, and simmer for another 10 minutes.
Serve with saffron rice.
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