Lobsters were everywhere last weekend. Live. Cooked. But mostly: cheap. I paid 5 dollars per beast. It was my first time making shellfish risotto and it turned out great. It was delicious and decadent. Hope you will like it.

Ingredients:

2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp unsalted butter
1 small , onion finely diced
1/2 rib of celery, finely diced
1 1/2 cups Arborio rice
1 cup dry white wine
5 or 6 cups lobster broth (recipe below)
the meat of two small lobsters, cooked and finely diced, claw meat reserved for garnish
1/2 cup peas, fresh or frozen (if using fresh, they need to be cooked first)
2 tbsp fresh parsley, finely chopped
4 tbsp brown butter

To make brown butter, melt butter in a small saucepan over medium-low heat without stirring, until it becomes brown. Reserve.

Method:

1. Heat the broth slowly in a small saucepan.
2. In another pan, heat the butter and olive oil over medium heat. Cook the onion and celery until the onion is translucent.
3. Add the rice and stir until the grains are well coated.
4. Add the white wine and stir constantly until all the liquid has evaporated.
5. Add the warm broth, 1/2 cup at a time and stir until there is no more liquid in the pan. Add the broth, 1/2 a cup at a time until the rice is done to your liking. Taste the rice after 20 minutes and see if it is done. It might take a few minutes more.
6. A few minutes before the rice is done, add the lobster meat and the peas.
7. When the risotto is cooked, add one last laddle of broth, stir well and taste. Correct for salt and pepper. Add half of the reserved brown butter.
8. Transfer to individual dishes and divide the remainder of the brown butter equally onto each dish. Garnish with the claws and more parsley. Serve at once.

Serves 4

Lobster broth:

3 tbsp olive oil
1 leek, cut into chuncks
1 onion, grossly chopped
2 celery ribs, grossly chopped
3 cloves of garlic, halved
the shells of 2 small lobsters
1/3 cup Pernod
1 cup Passata
3 bay leaves
5 sprigs of thyme
1 sprig of rosemary
10 cups water
2 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp whole black peppercorns

1. Sweat the leek, onion, celery and garlic in the oil over medium heat until the vegetables are soft.
2. Add the shells and stir for about 5 minutes.
3. Add the rest of the ingredients and cook, uncovered for about 2 hours or until it has reduced by half.
4. Strain. The broth is ready to use. You can keep it a few days in the refrigerator or it can be frozen.