LOBSTER GAZPACHO
(from the recipe of the Parc des Eaux-Vives restaurant, Geneva)
Larousse Gastronomique: The World's Greatest Cookery Encyclopedia (1988 ed.)
Peel and slice 100 g (4 oz) cucumber. Wash the white part of 4 leeks and 4 sticks (stalks) of celery and cut them in julienne strips. Blanch all these vegetables in boiling salted water (5 minutes for the cucumber, 10 minutes for the leeks and celery). Drain, cool under cold water, and dry thoroughly. Remove the leaves from a bunch of chervil. Peel, deseed, and slice 1.5 kg (3 1/4 1b) tomatoes. Deseed and slice 350 g (12 oz) red peppers. Peel and deseed 250 g (9 oz) raw cucumber. Peel and crush 5 cloves of garlic. Cook 4 lobsters for 5 minutes in court-bouillon. Shell them, put aside the coral, and cut the flesh into slices. Arrange the slices on a large dish.
Liquidize the raw vegetables (tomatoes, peppers, garlic, and cucumber) with parsley, salt, pepper, and 1 tablespoon vinegar. Put the vegetable purée into a saucepan and bring to the boil to make a bouillon. Separately, bring to the boil 1/2 liter (17 fl oz, 2 cups) single (light) cream. Mix the vegetable bouillon and cream together, adjust the seasoning, and boil the mixture for 2-3 minutes. Take off the heat, blend in the reserved coral, and strain. Then pour this purée over the lobster slices and leave to cool.
Refrigerate until well chilled before serving. Garnish with the slices of cucumber, the blanched julienne of leeks and celery, and the chervil leaves.
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