Celebrating the Best of British: Lee Westcott’s Lobster, sweet English pea, asparagus and sorrel paired with Classic Cuvee

Discover Lee Westcott’s delicious recipe for fresh lobster with sweet English peas, asparagus and a sorrel emulsion, a perfect pairing for the delicate flavours of Nyetimber Classic Cuvee.

“The inspiration behind pairing Nyetimber Classic Cuvee with a lobster dish is that I instantly knew that they both have characteristics that would work perfectly together. The subtle, delicate but intricate flavour of the wine goes so well with the sweet, rich flavour of the lobster.” Lee Westcott

See more from our collaboration with Lee Westcott here, read the full recipe below or skip down to our pre-prepared shopping list , not forgetting the Nyetimber Classic Cuvee of course.

Method

Recipe: 1 portion

Cooking time: 25 mins for dish preparation, 3 days pre prep for lobster oil (needs to infuse)

1/Lobster oil

1. The first thing to make is the lobster oil. This is best if it’s made a few days in advance to maximise the flavour of the oil. Start by heating up a large saucepan to high heat and then add 100ml of the vegetable oil. Once hot add the lobster shells and leave to colour for a few minutes before moving. Turn the shells over and keep cooking until golden brown and sealed all over. Once done, remove from the pan and place into a saucepan. Leave the oil in the pan.
2. Now add the garlic, carrots, shallots and thyme and roast until golden brown.
3. Now add the fennel and coriander seeds, star anise, tomato paste and the lobster shells. Mix well and roast on a medium heat for 3-4 minutes. Stir continuously to ensure the spices and tomato paste do not burn.
4. Add the chopped tomatoes and cook for a further 4 minutes, stirring continuously.
5. Add the remaining vegetable oil and bring to 70 degrees
6. Maintain this temperature for 2 hours, allowing the oil to infuse nicely. Then remove from the heat and add the parsley.
7. Allow to cool to room temperature. Place into the fridge and allow to infuse for a minimum of 2 days before using.

• Vegetable oil
• Lobster shells
• Garlic
• Carrots
• Shallots
• Thyme
• Fennel seeds
• Coriander seeds
• Star anise
• Tomato paste
• Tomatoes

2/Lobster

1. Take your fresh, humanely killed lobster, twist the tail of the lobster and the claws off from the main body. The body should be used for things such as the oil above or a lobster bisque. It’s a good idea to freeze them until you have enough to make a decent sized recipe of something.
2. Place the tail flat down on a chopping board an insert 2 thin long wooden skewers up from the bottom of the tail, right through the middle of the flesh and out the other side of the tail. This will ensure the tail stays straight when cooking.
3. Place a pan (large enough to fit the lobster tail into) onto the boil. Season with Maldon salt. Get yourself a bowl of ice water ready.
4. Once boiling place the tails and claws into the pan. Cook the tail for 2-3 minutes and the claws for 4-5, depending on the size. Plunge straight into the water after their cooking times
5. Leave to cool for 3 minutes and remove from the ice water.
6. Now carefully crack the shell of the lobster tail using your hands (squeeze them together with the lobster shell in the middle of both hands) and carefully peel away the shell until you’re just left with the flesh. Freeze all shell pieces.
7. Now carefully crack the claws using the back of a large cooks knife until you can break apart the shell from the lobster. Take your time and try your best to keep the lobster flesh intact.
8. Now trim the tops and bottoms off the lobster claws and carefully slice the lobster tail in half lengthways, removing and discarding the digestive track. Keep these aside until later. Once ready to use, pass the oil through a fine sieve into a small container. You will have plenty of lobster oil left over, so get creative and think of ways you can use this over the coming months.

• Lobster
• Maldon salt

3/Sorrel emulsion

1. Place the sorrel, white wine vinegar, rapeseed oil and a pinch of salt into a blender and blend on a medium speed until a coarse dressing consistency is achieved. Place into a small container.

• Sorrel
• White wine vinegar
• Rapeseed oil
• Maldon salt

4/Asparagus

1. Cut the bottoms off the asparagus spears. Cut roughly 1 inch from the bottom. Discard the bottoms

5/Herbs

1. Pick the stalk off the nasturtium leaves leaving a few cm’s of the stalk on each leaf
2. Do the same with the fennel pollen crowns
3. Pick the fennel fronds into smaller pieces

• Nasturtium leaves
• Fennel pollen crowns
• Fennel fronds

6/Final cooking and dish assembly

1. Preheat your oven to 180oC
2. Place a pan of water onto the boil. Season with salt
3. Place the lobster tails (cut side down) and the lobster claws onto a piece of baking paper and place this onto a small baking tray
4. Drizzle a little of the lobster oil over the lobster and rub in evenly with your finger. Place into the oven for 2 minutes to heat through.
5. Season with Maldon salt.
6. Cook the asparagus for 2 minutes in the boiling water.
7. Remove from the water and drain well. Season with lobster oil and Maldon salt. Cut each spear in half lengthways.
8. Now cook the podded peas for 1 minute in the boiling water. Once cooked, drain well and place into a mixing bowl. Add a few tablespoons of the sorrel emulsion to the peas and mix well. Season with Maldon salt and lemon zest.
9. Now time to assemble the dish. Place the lobster tails down as shown in the picture, then place the pea mixture into the middle of the tails, followed by the lobster claws on top.
10. Now neatly arrange the asparagus spears on top along with the courgette discs.
11. Now it’s time for the finishing touches. Arrange the herbs on top of the dish in a natural and organic way. There’s no rules at this point.
12. Finish by drizzling some of the lobster oil over the dish. Enjoy.

Shopping List

Fresh Fish

• 1 native lobster (if you purchase live, ask your local fishmonger to prepare this)
• 1.5kg frozen lobster shells, chopped, crushed and drained

Fresh Vegetables

• 300g fresh peas in their pods, de podded out of their shells
• 100g large sorrel
• 3 medium thickness spears of green asparagus
• 1 trombetta courgette, washed and sliced into thin discs
• 30g nasturtium leaves
• 10g fennel pollen crowns (foraged)
• 5g fennel fronds (foraged)
• 1 lemon
• 3 carrots, peeled and chopped
• 4 banana shallots, peeled and chopped
• 1 bulb garlic, sliced in half
• 8 sprigs thyme
• 1/3 bunch parsley
• 5 vine tomatoes, cut into quarters

Store Cupboard

• 15ml white wine vinegar
• 40ml cold pressed rapeseed oil
• Maldon salt
• 2 star anise
• 1 tbsp fennel seeds
• 1 tbsp coriander seeds
• 1.5 litres vegetable oil
• 3 tbsp tomato puree