The cucumbers and tomatoes are in full production – I’ m harvesting about 5 tomatoes and 3 cucumbers each morning… more than I can consume on my own. So I’ve been having garden parties.
I slow roasted tomato wedges with olive oil, salt, pepper and thyme. By cooking them slowly, the excess water evaporates and the flavors intensify. The drier tomato paired beautifully with fresh ricotta that was seasoned with basil and lemon. I served them with crackers, though a cucumber base would work well too.
And speaking of cucumber bases, I sliced several cucumbers and served them with lobster salad.
Lobster Salad
1 cup chopped lobster meat (about 1/2 pound) 1 – 2 tbs. mayonnaise 1 tbs. fresh tarragon 2 tbs. chopped celery 1 tbs. chopped scallions 1 – 2 tsp. lemon juice salt to taste
Mix everything together. Serve with buttered rolls or cucumber slices.
A few years back, Whole Foods decided to abandon sales of live lobsters. Apparently, customers complained that this was cruel treatment to the feisty crustaceans. The whole thing seemed silly to me, as I can only imagine that the “free range chickens” live and die no better… it’s just a matter of what the consumer sees, I suppose.
In any case, it’s really not that hard to find lobsters elsewhere. Just ½ block from my local Whole Foods is Alive and Kicking. This little seafood market is set so far set back from the street that you could drive past it without even knowing it existed. And that’s just what I did… until just a few weeks ago.
Inside the market are a half dozen lobster tanks and a small display of fresh fish. The selection is small, but everything is impeccably fresh. I went there last week in search of lobsters for my new favorite dish, and walked out with a pound of scallops.
With left-over frost bitten greens and corn kernels from two summers ago (yes, it was time to clean out the freezer), I made a variation of corn and crab soup from The Chinese Kitchen by Eileen Yin-Fei Lo. The clean, light broth let the sweetness of the scallop shine. And the greens added brightness to the whole dish. It was the perfect first course before the richer Cantonese Lobster.
Corn and Greens Soup with Seared Scallops
1 pound corn kernels 5 cups chicken stock 1 tbs. freshly grated ginger 1/8 tsp. white pepper ½ tsp. salt 5 large egg whites, lightly beaten 1/3 cup sliced scallions ½ pound braising greens (such as kale, collards, mustard, or a combination) 1 pound sea scallops 1 tbs. plain oil (canola or peanut)
In a large pot, combine corn, chicken stock and ginger. Let simmer for 5 minutes or until corn is tender. Using a slotted spoon, strain out some of the corn (approximately half) and puree in a blender with one cup of the broth. Return pureed corn to pot. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Wash the greens and slice them thinly. Add to the soup pot and cook for 3-5 minutes, just until they wilt. Remove pot from heat and set aside while you cook the scallops. (Alternatively, you can poach the scallops directly in the broth over medium heat for 5 minutes. If you do this, skip the next step).
Heat a large skillet over high heat. Add oil. Season scallops with salt and pepper. Add scallops to the pan and cook for 3 minutes or until golden brown. Turn over and cook for 1 minute more. Remove from heat and set aside.
Bring the soup back to a simmer, turn off heat and fold in egg whites. Serve immediately, garnishing with scallops and scallions.
Macomber Turnips are prized for their creamy texture and subtlety balanced sweet-tart flavor. Intuitively, I know they appear on restaurant menus all over New England in the fall. Just for kicks, I Googled, “Macomber Turnip Soup Menu” to see approximately how many restaurants in Boston feature them. Eight out of the ten results on the first page led to a different local restaurant’s menu.
(photo credit: Wendy Maeda, The Boston Globe)
They look like the purple top turnips in shape, size and color gradations. But instead of white with purple shoulders, they are flesh toned with more muted purple shoulders.
According to Cukie Macomber, as written in the New Bedford Standard Times, "It (ed:the macomber turnip)began when two brothers, Adin and Elihu, sixth-generation farmers from the Westport portion of old Dartmouth, began experimenting with seeds. They returned from a fair in Philadelphia in 1876 with seeds for experimentation, planting radishes next to rutabagas (17th century crossbreed of a cabbage and a turnip) to allow cross pollination. The Westport Macomber Turnip was born. Their new turnip inherited the white flesh of the radish parent and turnip grandparent, but an unusual sweetness and horseradish aroma, raw and cooked."
Every year, I see them at Russo’s and think I will buy a few and experiment. Nothing happened until this year. And how glad I am to have discovered them.
As a simple side dish, I roasted them with apples, ginger and garlic.
This dish transformed easily into a soup. With the addition of a little wine and chicken stock I pureed them. I added a little cream to give the soup a little richness. I started to add lemon juice as its part of my usual seasoning routine. But when I tasted the soup it was wonderfully bright without any more seasoning.
This soup can be easily dolled up with a little lobster and/or truffles on top.
Roasted Turnip Base 1 tbs. butter 1 macomber turnip 1 tsp. minced fresh ginger 1 tsp. minced fresh garlic 1 gala apple
1. Preheat the oven to 375. 2. Peel turnip and cut into ¾ inch cubes. 3. Melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add ginger and garlic, and cook for 2 minutes, just to soften. 4. Toss the butter with the turnips. Season with salt and pepper. Spread them in a single layer on a cookie sheet and put them in the oven. 5. Roast t the turnips for 20 minutes. 6. While they’re roasting, core the apple and cut it into a ½ inch dice. Do not peel it. 7. After 20 minutes, add the apple to the turnips. Toss them together to make sure the apples get a little butter coating. Roast for 5 minutes more. 8. Serve as a side dish to braised short ribs or salmon.
Macomber Turnip Soup with Lobster Turnip Base 1 quart chicken stock/broth ¼ cup heavy cream 1 small leek, white and light green parts, cut and washed.
½ pound lobster meat 1 tsp. fresh tarragon 1 scallion, cut into rings 1 tbs. butter Lemon
1. In a large soup pot, combine turnip base, chicken stock and leek. Simmer for 20 minutes. Puree in a blender (in two parts if necessary) until smooth. Add cream. Return to pot, and set aside in a warm place. 2. In a medium skillet, melt the butter. Add the lobster and warm it through. Just before serving add tarragon, scallions and a squeeze of lemon. 3. Ladle soup into bowls. Top with lobsters and extra scallion rounds.
Long gone are the days when people shop daily for provisions – making separate stops at the produce market, fish market and butcher shop. Too often, convenience trumps tradition. And supermarkets push out the fishmongers and butcher-shops. A few relics of this by-gone lifestyle remain in Wellesley, MA – Capt. Marden’s (fish market) and John Dewar for meat.
On Tuesdays, I teach at Babson College just a mile away from Capt. Marden’s. I always make sure to stop there on my way home for provisions. The freshness and quality always surpass Whole Foods (which is my usual marketplace) and the selection can’t be beat! This is their advantage of also running a wholesale division which supplies many of the fine-dining establishments in Boston.
1. Mix lobster with the first six ingredients, and let marinate for at least 30 minutes. 2. Mix pork with sugar and salt. 3. In a large skillet over high heat, add 1tbs. of oil. Add 1/2 the garlic and ginger, and saute until aromatic. Add pork and cook until it loses the pink. Add the eggs and cook until scrambled softly. Remove and set aside. 4. Remove lobster pieces from marinade, reserving the marinade. 5. Wipe the skillet clean. Return to high heat and add remaining oil. Add remaining ginger and garlic and cook until aromatic. Add the lobster and spread out in a single layer. Let the shells roast for a few minutes and turn bright red. Add the gin and the reserved marinade. Cook for 3 more minutes. 6. Add the pork mixture back to the pan, along with scallions. Continue cooking until just heated through. 7. Garnish with cucumber slices.
When I was in cooking school, I interned at Bix in San Francisco. It was my first exposure to the adrenaline and excitement of a restaurant kitchen – and my first experience in the mass quantities of prep. On my first week, someone handed me a five gallon bucket of steamed lobsters to shell. The sous-chef gave me a quick tutorial on how to break them down efficiently and a kitchen towel to use as protection for my hands. Thinking the towels was for sissies, I declined. After more than a dozen lobsters, my hands were shredded by the little shells and spines of the lobster. And, of course, my next task was to juice a case of lemons.
A few months later, I visited my grandmother in Alabama. We order lobsters from the local “fish-monger” (Thinking back on this memory, it’s hard to believe Montgomery, AL had fish mongers selling fresh lobsters in the mid-90’s. But I digress.) I deftly shelled our lobsters in less than 5 minutes. While eating was far easier, it detracted from the fun of digging and picking at the shells for all the meat.
Now-a-days, I rarely eat steamed lobster. Too often it’s overcooked and rubbery. I prefer to cook it at home when I can steam it to my desire of doneness.
In tribute to Bix, I served the lobster at a recent dinner with a Cioppino-style sauce.
Lobster with Buttery Leeks and Spicy Tomato Sauce
6 – 1 1/2 pound lobsters 3 leeks 2 tablespoons butter 1/3 cup olive oil 2 large onions, chopped 1 cup minced celery 1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley 2 tablespoons minced garlic 2 cups canned crushed tomatoes with added puree 1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes 1 cup dry red wine 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar 2 cups chicken or seafood broth 1sprig fresh thyme 1 sprig fresh oregano 1 small bay leaf 1/2 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper Pinch of ground allspice Pinch of ground cinnamon
1. Bring a lobster pot 1/2 full of water to a boil. Add salt and seaweed, if you have it. Boil the lobsters for 8 minutes. Drain and run under cold water to stop the cooking process. The best video demonstration for cleaning lobsters that I've seen is here.
2. Heat oil in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Add onions, celery and garlic. Sauté until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add crushed red pepper and cook for 1 minute. Add crushed tomatoes and diced tomatoes with their juices; simmer 10 minutes. Add red wine, red wine vinegar, thyme, oregano, bay leaf, allspice, cinnamon and seafood broth. Simmer 30 minutes. Season to taste with salt, pepper and lemon juice. To give the base more body, puree half of it in a food mill.
3. Heat a medium skillet over medium flame. Melt butter. Add leeks and cook stirring occasionally until leeks are soft. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Before serving, warm lobster in leek butter. Serve with grilled bread or pasta.
. The clean, light broth let the sweetness of the scallop shine. And the greens added brightness to the whole dish. It was the perfect first course before the richer 
for a Cantonese preparation.