Living in south Florida has its perks! These lobster tails came right from our waters here. Cheers to good friends who catch them and share :)

Using fresh lobster is ideal. If you aren’t able to get fresh lobster and use frozen lobster instead, make sure they are completely thawed before starting.

Ingredients

Lobster Risotto:

• 2 cups lobster meat from the two tails, diced

• 1 shallot, minced

• 2 cloves of garlic, minced

• Zest of 1 lemon

• ¼ tsp cayenne pepper

• 2 tbsp olive oil

• 2-3 tbsp truffle butter

• ½ tsp truffle salt

• ½ cup white wine

• 1 cup arborio rice

• 4-5 cups lobster stock (recipe below)

Lobster Stock:

• 1 carrot

• 1 celery

• ½ large onion

• 1 tbsp whole black peppercorn

• 1 tbsp salt

• Lobster tail shells

• 6-8 cups of water

Instructions

1. Fill a pot with water, about 7-8 cups. Bring to a boil then add the lobster tails, boil for 5 minutes. Have bowl of ice water ready. Remove tails, place in ice water. Turn off heat.

2. Place tails on cutting board or workspace. Use kitchen shears to cut through the lobster tails. One side is softer to cut through. Remove the lobster meat. Place the shells of the tails back into the pot of water. Scoop out any fat scum that is floating on the surface. Add the carrots, celery, peppercorn and salt. Give a stir and turn on heat again. Once it reaches a light boil, lower heat and simmer for 20 minutes.

3. In the meantime, start cutting your shallot and garlic. Set aside.

4. Set out a large mixing bowl then place a strainer over top to help catch the shells and veggies. Once stock is done simmering, turn off, pour over the strainer and into the bowl. We only want to keep the liquid. The tails and veggies are to be tossed out. Set aside the stock.

5. Wipe down the pot and return to the burner. Add the olive oil over medium heat, then add the shallots, stir and saute for a minute. Then add the garlic and saute for one more minute. Shallot should be fragrant and translucent.

6. Stir in the rice. After about a minute of stirring the rice, it should all be combined with the olive oil. Add the wine and continue stirring until it is all absorbed.

7. Once the wine is all absorbed, add ½ cup of the lobster stock. Now, stir continuously until all the liquid is absorbed. While stirring remember to also scrap the corners of the pot to make sure rice isn’t sticking. Always keep the rice moving.

8. The liquid will once again absorb and you will then add another ½ cup of stock and continue to stir.

9. Repeat this process until the rice is al dente, it should take about 20 minutes. The rice will be al dente, become slightly translucent while still being able to see a little of the center of the rice. You don’t want to continue too long where the rice overcooks and gets too mushy.

10. Once you are done adding your stock increments because your rice is cooked, turn off the heat. Add diced lobster, butter, lemon zest, salt and cayenne pepper. Stir well to combine. Your risotto is finished, it should be creamy and thick.

11. Serve immediately, you may garnish with fresh parsley.

We’d love to see your finished product! Post your picture on Instagram, tag us @danimade.kitchen and hashtag it #danimade