Langouste a la Vanille

Doesn’t that just divine?! Well let me tell you it totally was and it is so easy to make!

This is the National dish of the Comoros Islands and it is a perfect union of the French expertise in sauces and the incredible quality of the fresh catch in the Comoros.

The lobster I used is a typical Northeastern Lobster, the kind that turns that lovely red! But it is very different to the one found in the Comoros. The one there is called a Crayfish and it is caught all over the Indian Ocean. It is very pricey in some places, reaching $75 the pound! My lobster was $17.99 and as it was a two pounder and I dared to complain about the nearly $36 I paid!

Really the best part of this recipe is the vanilla sauce, so it doesn’t matter what kind of lobster you get, you can also use langostino lobsters or shrimp. So here is the recipe. It is adapted from Saveur’s:

Ingredients

2 lobsters

2 tbsp. of olive oil

2 tbsp. unsalted butter

2 shallots, minced

1/4 cup of white whine

2 vanilla beans, split and seeds scraped

1/2 cup heavy cream

black pepper to taste

Directions

Cook the lobster to your taste, boiled, grilled..

The sauce:

Melt the butter in a large pan over medium heat. Add the minced shallots and stir until soft for two or three minutes.

Add the wine and vanilla pod and seeds and cook stirring, until reduced by half, 3 or 4 minutes.

Stir in the cream and simmer for 2 minutes longer. Season the sauce with salt and pepper and let it seat keeping it warm.

Split the lobster in half lengthwise, then scoop out and reserve the tomalley or egg sac, if present. Spoon over the lobster and top with the tomalley (to taste).