Stuck on you....Lobster and salmon

Happy Sunday afternoon my dears. I have high hopes that you are enjoying sun instead of an afternoon of stormy sea's and hailing winds like we are here in good ol' Nova Scotia. Perhaps if you are stuck inside, and even if you aren't you may be looking for a new recipe to try this Sunday Eve. 

In that case you have come to the right blog! I have a couple ideas, and tried them out at Clearwater yesterday. I must say my Saturday afternoons are always tremendous and inspired by great customers looking to learn a few new tricks about cooking seafood and how to pair it with delicious wine. This week Harvest Wines gave me two delightful wines to pair with.  Salmon and Lobster jumped out at me and into my recipes, and now onto this blog for you. 

Recipe 1: Lobster Risotto

½ Onion Chopped

2 Cloves Garlic Chopped

1 tbsp Olive Oil

1 Stalk Lemon Grass

1 Package Clearwater Raw Lobster - Defrosted

1 Cup Arborio Rice

1 tbsp white wine

3 Cups Vegetable Stock or Water

½ Lemon

¼ Cup Fresh Parsley Chopped

1tbsp Butter

Salt and Pepper to Taste

Place a medium sized pot on stove and heat on medium. Add olive oil, garlic and onions. Cook these until they become translucent. Add in the lemon grass and cook for 1 minute. Add risotto and toast the rice for 2 minutes with the lemon grass, garlic and onions. Deglaze the pot (this will stop the rice from sticking to the bottom) with the white wine and let the wine almost fully evaporate before adding in 1 cup vegetable stock. The ingredients in the pot should be at a low boil. When it has reached this temperature add in your Raw Lobster. Add the second cup of liquid and stir together until all the liquid has almost evaporated. Slowly add the third cup of liquid tasting as you go. If the rice is cooked (has a soft chewy texture) than you may not need to use the whole third cup. To finish the risotto add 1 lemon zested, butter, parsley and salt/pepper to taste. Serve right away.

Paired with: Tribu Chardonnay, 2009 or Chenin Torrontes from Argentina. Either way you will be delighted with light fresh flavors dancing on your palate citrus notes and a simple finish. Both of these are easy drinking wines. 

Recipe 2: Seared Salmon with Crisp Pancetta, Leek and Artichoke Hearts

 

2 Salmon Fillets

150 Grams Pancetta sliced ¼ inch thick Chopped into 1 inch pieces

2 Leeks

1 Can Artichoke Hearts, drained and cut in half

1 tbsp Olive Oil

Salt and Pepper

Heat sauté pan on medium with olive oil. Take the salmon fillets out of the refrigerator and pat dry. Salt and Pepper the fillets. Once the pan has come to temperature and oil has begun to sizzle place Salmon fillets bottom side up in the pan. Add in pancetta and leeks to the Pan. Cook on medium heat for 4 minutes and then flip the fish over. Add in artichoke hearts and let cook for another 6 minutes or until fillets have cooked through and the pancetta, leeks and artichoke hearts have formed a sauce around the fish.

Eat either on a salad, with rice, potatoes or on it’s own.

Pair with: Beso de Vino Seleccion 2009 - This wine made my heart and tastebuds very happy. Not only is the name cute as a button because it translates into "kiss of wine" but it is a lovely grenach/syrah blend with subtle hints of chocolate colored coffee and berry. For all you wino's who may be interested it also has perforated holes on the screw top to mirror the effects of a cork.

Ahhh for the love of food and wine. So here you are my friends, try them out, ask questions, play with flavours but most importantly cook with your heart and have some fun.

Eat, drink and enjoy!!