Author Notes
Lagosta Suada in a traditional dish from Peniche, a city on the Atlantic coast of Portugal where good lobsters are abundant. It is cooked in wine and tomato sauce. I thought this would be a nice way of cooking Maine Lobster, which is so popular in the U.S. One day I cooked this lobster recipe for a birthday party but forgot to buy the white wine so I used Champagne instead and everyone liked it so much that I now always use this version with Champagne but a good Sauternes from California is as good.. —Maria Teresa Jorge
Ingredients
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2 pounds
lobster big, live
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3
onions, medium, yellow
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5 cups
tomatoes very ripe, peeled and chopped
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2
garlic cloves
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2/3 cup
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
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1 cup
Champagne or Sauternes white wine
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6 tablespoons
Port Wine
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1
bay leaf
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2 teaspoons
Paprika
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8
black peppercorns whole
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salt
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1/4 cup
parsley leaves chopped finely
Directions
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Thinly slice the onions, garlic (remove green part from inside). Chopp finely the parsley for the garnish.
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Blanch the tomatoes, skin them and cut them in pieces and put them in a colander to drain any the exces water.
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Prepare the lobster: To kill the lobster as quickly and painlessly as possible, lay it flat on a chopping board, tailing facing away from you. Hold the lobster with a cloth so you don't prick yourself and insert the point of a heavy sharp knife into the head, aiming for the point one inch above the middle of the eyes. Press in one go until it goes all the way through the lobster's head to the cutting board, then bring the blade down between the eyes to finish the cut of the head. (If you can't do this, bring a pot of water to a boil and insert the lobster, head first and let cook for 2 minutes maximum to kill the lobster).
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Cut the head in half, and discard the sac behind the eyes. Cut the body lengthwise, remove the black vein, then rotate the lobster horizontally and cut through the rings. Set aside in a bowl until you have all the lobsters cut.
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In a large wide pot with a tight fitting lid over medium high heat, add the Olive Oil, the onion and the black peppercorns and let sweat. Add the garlic, the bay leaf, the lobster pieces including head and claws and any juices that have come out of the lobster. Sautée until the shells change colour (from dark red brown to bright red).
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Add the Champagne or white wine, let the alcohol evaporate completely, add the tomatoes, the paprika and a little salt and cover with a tight fitting lid. Lower the heat and let simmer for 20 minutes, shaking the pan from time to time.
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Uncover, add the Port Wine, let simmer for a further 15 minutes uncovered. Season with more salt if necessary. (Don't over cook the lobster as it will become rubbery). Discard the bay leaf.
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Serve hot, sprinkled with parsley. Serve with white Basmati rice or on top of slices of Italian bread. It is also brilliant if you shell the lobster and serve it with the sauce with linguini!
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Pair with the same wine you used for cooking, either Champagne or a California Sauternes wine..
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