Homard à l’Américaine

Name: Homard à l’Américaine (Lobster with Tomatoes and Garlic)
Yield: Serves 2
Cuisine: France
Ingredients: 2 live lobsters (about 1½ pounds/675 g each); boiled rice, for serving; 3 shallots (about 2 ounces/60 g total), chopped; 1 garlic clove, chopped; 3 tablespoons/45 ml. olive oil; 1 onion, chopped; 1 cup/250 ml. fish stock or water; 1 cup/250 ml. fish stock or water; 1 cup/250 ml. dry white wine; 6 tablespoons/90 ml. cognac; pinch of cayenne pepper; 1 small bunch fresh tarragon (about 1 ounce/30 g), leaves and stems separated; 1 small bunch fresh tarragon (about 1 ounce/30 g), leaves and stems separated; 1 bouquet garni; 2 tablespoons tomato paste; 1 pound/450 g tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and chopped; salt and black pepper; salt and black pepper; pinch of cayenne pepper, if needed; 2 tablespoons crème fraîche or heavy cream; 2 tablespoons crème fraîche or heavy cream; 4 tablespoons/60 g butter

Lobster with Tomatoes and Garlic

Preparation info

Serves
2

Difficulty
Medium

Appears in

The Country Cooking of France

By Anne Willan

Published 2007

About

Lobster Américaine is an ideal combination of rich lobster, fruity tomatoes, the anise whiff of tarragon, and a hint of Cognac, a quiet classic that never dies. Part of the mystery is in the adjective: should the dish be called amoricaine or américaine? Is it inspired by Armor, the ancient name for Brittany, and home of the finest lobsters in France? Or does it come from southern France, through a Provençal chef who invented the dish for an American customer? The second seems to me the more

Ingredients

Europe
France
Sauce
Fish course
Pescatarian
Mediterranean
Gluten-free

Ingredients

Method