Roasted bone marrow, prawn and parsley salad

These frigid days, by Los Cabos standards, made me think of something with a little "fat punch", as a defense against the elements...  lame excuse, I know  ; )

A cute , little salad that packs a lot of flavour and different textures; here it goes:

Start by heating the oven to the max and peeling and devein the prawns ( baby lobster tails, shrimp, langostinos.... they all would work)

Place the bones, cut side down, in a hot ovenproof skillet and sear them nicely, top and bottom first and then all around. When they're nice and browned place them in the oven for around 5 more minutes.

In the while pick a whole bunch of Italian parsley leaves and place them in a mixing bowl with a touch of freshly smashed garlic, cracked black pepper and coarse sea salt.

Mince some shallot and reserve.

Now, carefully, take the bones out of the oven and, quickly, push/scape the marrow out of them and into the bowl.

Add a splash of best olive oil to the fat in the skillet, briefly sautee the shallot in it and add and cook the prawns.

Take the prawns out and place them in the bowl as well .

Reheat the fat and, once it's HOT, deglaze the skillet with a healthy splash of good vinegar ( not balsamic, though...), let it bubble a few seconds  and pour it into the bowl and onto the salad .

Toss well and serve immediately with toasted bread and e few more grains of salt and pepper.

Enjoy it with a good mid bodied, softer red wine, like a Barbera or a Bonarda.

Salute!

Lobster carpaccio with lobster and onion fritters

I've just been asked by somebody in a very popular fishing forum , if I could do anything a bit off the beaten path with lobster.  My first thought was a pasta or a risotto, but then I started thinking OFF the box... Here's the idea....

 The dressing : with a blender mix lime juice, S&P, extremely thinly chopped garlic (to taste), lemongrass, ginger, Serrano pepper or Habanero, cilantro and a bit of brown sugar to balance the dressing.

The lobster:  clean, devein and shell the lobster, over a strainer and a bowl in order to collect all the juices, which you'll reserve for the fritters. Reserve the brains and the organs as well. With a SHARP knife slice the lobster as thin as you can, without ripping it... nicely arrange the slices on a chilled plate and reserve in the cooler.

The salad : thinly julienne some slightly unripe mango, green onion and radish. Reserve

The fritters : in a mixing bowl whisk together one egg, one cup of flour, a generous pinch of salt, the juices and the offall of the lobster and enough room temperature beer to obtain a batter you'll be able to spoon into shape. To this add an average size white onion, sliced as thin as humanely possible .

Let's put it all together:

Warm up the frying oil... while it gets to temperature, strain the dressing atop the lobster meat and pile the julienned salad in the center of the plate.

With the help of two tablespoons shape the fritters and pour them into the oil.

Let them fry till they get nicely puffed and golden, place them on kitchen paper and remove excess oil and quickly add them to the plate..as in the picture, if you like it.

That's it! Simple and fast..all it takes, remember, is neat prep work and all the pieces will fall into place effortlessly.

Pair it wit a good beer for a snack or with a good Chardonnay or Sauvignon Blanc for a dinner starter.

Either way: CHEERS!