Poached Brancaster Lobster with Confit Tomatoes

Ingredients

• 12 whole live Brancaster lobsters (or 4 fresh lobster tails)
• 2For court-bouillon: 1 litre water
• 3200ml dry white wine
• 41 carrot, sliced
• 51 celery stalk, sliced
• 61 shallot, halved
• 71 bay leaf
• 8Few peppercorns
• 9Small bunch of flat-leaf parsley
• 10For confit tomatoes: 250g cherry tomatoes, halved
• 114 tbsp good quality olive oil
• 122 garlic cloves, sliced
• 13Fresh thyme sprigs
• 14Salt, pepper and pinch of sugar
• 15For tarragon butter: 100g unsalted butter
• 162 tbsp fresh tarragon, finely chopped
• 171 tbsp lemon juice
• 18Salt and white pepper

Instructions

1. 1Make confit tomatoes: Place cherry tomatoes cut-side up in a baking dish. Add olive oil, garlic slices, thyme sprigs, salt, pepper and sugar. Roast at 120°C for 1–1.5 hours until concentrated and jammy. Set aside.
2. 2Prepare court-bouillon: Combine all court-bouillon ingredients in a large pot and bring to a simmer for 15 minutes. Strain and return liquid to the pot.
3. 3Poach the lobster: Bring court-bouillon to a gentle simmer. If using whole lobsters, cook for 8–10 minutes. For tails, cook for 5–7 minutes until just opaque. Remove and allow to cool slightly before extracting the meat.
4. 4Make tarragon butter: Melt butter gently and add tarragon, lemon juice, and seasoning. Keep warm.
5. 5To serve: Arrange confit tomatoes on warm plates. Place lobster meat on top. Spoon over the warm tarragon butter. Garnish with fresh herbs and serve with crusty bread or fine pommes vapeur.