Difficulty:[usr 3]
To prepare lobsters, the whole question is whether you are a sensitive person or not.
In the first case, preheat your oven to 250°C, th:8. When your oven is hot, place the lobsters in it. Before they have time to think about it, they will already be in foodie heaven. Leave them for 4 minutes, then remove them and cut them in half lengthwise. To do this insert the point of a large knife at the junction of the corselet and the tail, then lower the blade.
In case you are less sensitive, squarely cut the lobsters in the same way but alive. It goes faster, for you and for them.
Slightly crush the claws without crushing the flesh with the back of the large knife. In the flat pan, just wide enough to hold the 4 lobster halves tightly packed, put 2 tbsp butter with 1 tbsp chopped shallot. Let brown slightly on the heat, then arrange the four lobster halves, shell side down. Drizzle with fresh cream.
Add the tarragon sprigs stripped of their leaves (keep them separate). Cover the pan tightly. Put on low heat and count 10 minutes of cooking from the first boil.
At the end of these 10 minutes, remove the lobster halves, taking care to drain the cream that remains in each of the shells into the pan. Remove the flesh without breaking the tails; also remove the flesh from the claws that you have slightly crushed. Set these meats aside in a 2 liter saucepan.
In a plate, keep 2 legs per half lobster and half corselets that you have emptied into the pan where you cooked the lobsters. Add the rest of the legs that you crush, the rest of the claws… in short, everything that is not eaten. Bring to a boil, then pass through a fine strainer over the second pan which contains the lobster meat. Put salt to the point.
If you made this ahead of time, keep it refrigerated.
When ready to serve, reheat for 20 minutes in a bain-marie or directly over low heat for 10 minutes.
At the last moment, add the coarsely chopped tarragon leaves and give a turn of the pepper mill.
Place 2 lobster halves and the flesh of 2 claws on each hot plate. Cover generously with cream.
Decorate each plate with a half corselet and two legs.
Source:recipe by Roger Vergé – Les Fêtes de mon Moulin – Flammarion.
