# Need input on this appetizer



## jgraeff (Oct 10, 2012)

working on a dish

prosciutto wrapped lobster tail ( lobster will be poached slightly then wrapped in prosciutto that has scallop mousseline to act as a glue then browned and sliced)

I originally did it with roasted corn, red bell pepper, shallots, garlic and deglazed with lobster stock.

I made a lobster cream with orange zest as a garnish.

As well as a roasted yellow pepper coulis. 

Im happy with 90% of the dish. Im not liking the corn, im thinking about adding fresh peas and favabeans and making a fava puree as well. 

any other ideas?

a couple loyal customers asked for a new lobster dish so i dont want to disappoint them.


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## knyfeknerd (Oct 10, 2012)

Lose the corn
Maybe peas. It looks a little too busy/messy with the corn all over the place. Maybe a simple lobster cream underneath the lobster. Maybe a green pea puree? 
Just thinking out loud.
I'll bet it tastes great.
Is the lobster stuffed with the mousseline as well?


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## tkern (Oct 10, 2012)

I agree. Lose the corn. You're already getting that texture and sweetness from the lobster, plus the good corn days are numbered. A simple, clean, beautiful plate goes a long way.


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## jgraeff (Oct 10, 2012)

revised a little bit 

the scallop mousseline is just a thin layer on the prosciutto to help it stick tightly to the lobster, this one has fava puree, same yellow roasted pepper coulis, lobster cream,

i thinking about losing apsaragus and as far as plating slice a little thicker just enough for one row on the plate with vegies around and on top. 

any comments on this one?


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## DeepCSweede (Oct 10, 2012)

It looks busy to me. I would keep the yellow roasted pepper coulis and the lobster cream and lose the beans / fava puree. Or maybe just dot the fava puree on one side of the plate.


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## K-Fed (Oct 10, 2012)

Fava bean purée and slice the asparagus thin and curl it maybe?


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## tkern (Oct 10, 2012)

Take out the asparagus and the brunoise the pepper. The large cuts seem incongruent with the organic way this plate is forming.

I like all the flavors. Favas, lobster and bacon just have a strange harmony.


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## pitonboy (Oct 10, 2012)

Is the proscuitto such that one needs to cut it with a knife, and if so are the little lobster pieces meant to be bite size?


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## mano (Oct 10, 2012)

tkern said:


> Take out the asparagus and the brunoise the pepper. The large cuts seem incongruent with the organic way this plate is forming.
> 
> I like all the flavors. Favas, lobster and bacon just have a strange harmony.



Yes, and remove all but the middle three proteins. Those are enough for an app. This is a less-is-more aesthetic. (Take my input with a grain of salt. Plating is one of my weak points).


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## brainsausage (Oct 10, 2012)

Asparagus, and favas are out of season so I'd focus more on the corn(which is almost out of season as well) and bell peppers. Char the corn and do a light puree or preferably a foam(the char will help balance the sweetness and make the lobster pop). I'd keep the tail whole, anchor it to the plate with a little mousse, crisp the prosciutto on a sil pat (for textural contrast and to complement the corn) break it into slivers and drop over the lobster and splayed across the plate, arrange dots of the puree from a squeeze bottle as cleanly as possible to offset the chaos of the prosciutto shards, then maybe finish with some very thinly sliced and very lightly pickled peppers to help brighten the dish. Less is always more.


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## SpikeC (Oct 10, 2012)

Great thread! I'm enjoying the thoughts on the development of this dish!


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## Ucmd (Oct 10, 2012)

I'm not a pro but I cook a ton and entertain most weekends. I'm not seeing the prosciutto wrapped lobster. Seems to over power the delicate seafood.


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## lumo (Oct 10, 2012)

My humble 2¢

I'd also keep the tail whole (for heat retention) and crisp the prosciutto versus wrapping the lobster. 
Also, here are some seasonal ingredients I like with lobster, not that they all go well with each other.

puree: cauliflower, macomber turnip, apple, pear, parsnip, parsley root, fennel....
garnish: fuyu persimmon, olive oil poached fennel dice, citrus segments, blanched yellow and purple cauliflower, braised grilled leeks, endive jam...I saw that you use micro greens, maybe consider micro cilantro, sometimes it comes with the slightly green coriander seeds attached. 
texture: cripsy pork product, julienne apple, sliced radish... 
sauce, if desired: apple cider or citrus reduction, just a drizzle of great olive oil, citrus hollandaise...


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## jgraeff (Oct 10, 2012)

we have other lobster dishes that are whole lobster which is why i decided to wrap it. 

I decided to omit the aparagus, but kept the bell pepper. I changed the plating a little and it came out pretty nice. Tonight sold about 16 orders and only did 50 covers also did a few entrees of the same dish so i was pleased. 

final dish consisted of fava puree, lobster cream, pepper coulis, wrapped lobster and a few beans and peppers as a garnish. tried to tone it done and make a little more simple. Flavor together worked really nicely. 

thanks for all the comments and advice i like hearing what other people have to say.


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## ThEoRy (Oct 10, 2012)

I'd go more Autumnal even. Fennel soubis with root vegetable obliques. Parsnip, turnip etc... maybe a crispy sage leaf as garnish.


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## brainsausage (Oct 11, 2012)

ThEoRy said:


> I'd go more Autumnal even. Fennel soubis with root vegetable obliques. Parsnip, turnip etc... maybe a crispy sage leaf as garnish.



I had some more seasonal concepts as well, but was trying to stay within the flavor profiles he'd listed.


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## jgraeff (Oct 11, 2012)

brainsausage said:


> I had some more seasonal concepts as well, but was trying to stay within the flavor profiles he'd listed.




I agree although our menu has a lot of that already for right now i wanted to do something different that would just compliment the lobster. Once i made it look less busy it looked a lot better. 

theory- our veg that goes with each entree is roasted root veggies(carrot, parsnips, butternut, red onion, and turnips) I do see where you guys are coming from with seasonal flavors just with what we have dont want to be redundant and boring.


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## bieniek (Oct 11, 2012)

brainsausage said:


> Asparagus, and favas are out of season so I'd focus more on the corn(which is almost out of season as well) and bell peppers. Char the corn and do a light puree or preferably a foam(the char will help balance the sweetness and make the lobster pop). I'd keep the tail whole, anchor it to the plate with a little mousse, crisp the prosciutto on a sil pat (for textural contrast and to complement the corn) break it into slivers and drop over the lobster and splayed across the plate, arrange dots of the puree from a squeeze bottle as cleanly as possible to offset the chaos of the prosciutto shards, then maybe finish with some very thinly sliced and very lightly pickled peppers to help brighten the dish. Less is always more.



Great written Josh!

From my perspective. 

Transglutaminase. You can glue two lobster tails together with their bottoms [white parts], so the end of one is on top of front of the other one, with a slice of ham in the middle. Then roll it and you get almost round shape. Not sure whether you need any kind of meat to go with it, but you choose. I just think you have too many things going around on the plate. 
You must also have time to serve it so sweat little more on balancing the dish rather than on presentation. 3 or four flavours and a simple leaves or something fried/microwave dried will do. 

From peppers - red and yellow, capers, tarragon, olive oil and asparagus [tops sliced lengthwise in half - just add them a la minute, so they dont loose appearance ] you could make a simple vierge. 
So lobster + vierge and yeah maybe a foam of some sort maybe onion or if too sweet something spicy, like chorizo foam?

Everything you could conserve by lowering pH I consider autumn-winter menu applicable. 

Alternatively, The corn puree is nice option. and I agree 100 percent with Josh you can roast a pepper, have it in bigger bits or smaller dice or even brunoise but theres no point to have puree from yellow capsicum and dice from red, especially with skin on...

Or just go loud... a la Rossini  You could use only claws here if you have other lobster dishes on menu, and a fried liver or a terrine/roll/sausage, then you could use sauternes I think its ok for both main ingredients. with a simple salad again and a piece of pain-perdu or a brioche rolled with apple puree.


:2cents:


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## bieniek (Oct 11, 2012)

But if you use lobster on the menu already, why would you make more dishes out of it in the first place??


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## markenki (Oct 11, 2012)

bieniek said:


> But if you use lobster on the menu already, why would you make more dishes out of it in the first place??


From the OP: a couple loyal customers asked for a new lobster dish so i dont want to disappoint them. 

Regards,

Mark


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## knyfeknerd (Oct 11, 2012)

Final product sounds good JG. More pics please.


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## brainsausage (Oct 11, 2012)

bieniek said:


> Great written Josh!
> 
> From my perspective.
> 
> ...



Thank you sir 

I would've gone much more modernist and delved into other ingredients, but as stated above- I was trying to stay in the profiles chosen, and I didn't want to stray too far from what is standard in regards to equipment in the majority of kitchens. Otherwise I'd drag smoke, sous vide, xanthan, and an ISI into the equation...


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## bieniek (Oct 13, 2012)

Oh I havent had a plan to sound too modernist'y really...

Transglutaminase aint really so new in the kitchen or hard to find. 

The foam might be produced with a stick-blender, Im not sure one could go without lecitine but then foam can be dropped.

I was in fact thinking about xantan but thought its too much


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## keeley1984 (Oct 14, 2012)

I would suggest the corn bread as well. You can make blue corn and yellow corn muffins. Happy Holidays! even just a salad.


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## mr drinky (Oct 14, 2012)

Needs more cowbell.

k.


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## Mike9 (Oct 15, 2012)

I would use claw meat as well unless you can guarantee tender tail every plate. Charred corn puree sounds good as a binder. At this rate why not add avocado to equation. Maybe roll it like eho-maki? Maybe a few spicy, blackened string beans for garnish.


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## Mike9 (Oct 15, 2012)

As an afterthought - if you do a lot of lobster save that roe. Lobster meat, roe, avocado wrapped in prosciutto bound with charred corn puree sounds good to me.

Personally I'd find a way to incorporate the tomalley as well.


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