Lobster in Champagne Sauce with Green Grapes is an elegant and refined dish for an intimate dinner. I first encountered this dish in Denver in my freshman year of college. My parents, my roommate, and I went to dinner at a French restaurant called Lafitte, named after the pirate Jean Lafitte. This was my first encounter with fine French food, and the memory remained vivid with me. The restaurant no longer exists, but the minute I tasted this lobster I knew that someday I would have to recreate it.
Having no idea how the dish was achieved, I simply experimented until I found a version that, if memory serves, is a close approximation. Using a sparkling wine may seem wasteful and superfluous because all the effervescence is lost in the cooking. However, I believe that the lightness and taste of the Champagne gives a distinctive flavor to the sauce. I’ll admit that of late I’ve switched to using Prosecco because decent Champagne has become so expensive. Any dry sparkling white wine will suffice.
One of the things I love about Lobster in Champagne Sauce with Green Grapes is that the whole thing can be made a day in advance and completely assembled. Then on the day of your dinner you need simply pop it in the oven to gratiné, and you have a remarkable dish. The unusual use of of seedless green grapes gives a wonderful contrasting sweetness to the rich, cheese-adorned sauce.
You’ll want to choose two live lobsters, each weighing about 2 pounds.
Choose lobsters weighing at least 2 pounds.
Poaching the Lobsters
Make a court bouillon by simmering in a large heavy-lidded kettle a whole bottle of Champagne, with sliced onion, celery, carrot, parsley, bay leaf, fresh tarragon, thyme and some peppercorns. After 15 minutes of gentle simmering, bring the mixture to a boil.
The court bouillon.
Add the live lobsters, cover tightly, and boil for about 20 minutes. The lobsters are done when they are bright red and the long feelers can be rather easily removed.
Fully cooked lobsters.
Remove the lobsters from the pot, and boil down the liquid until it is reduced to about 1 1/2 cups. Strain the liquid through a fine sieve, pressing down on the vegetables to extract as much liquid as possible. Set the liquid aside.
Sautéing the Lobster Meat
Remove the lobster meat from the shells, and cut in 1-inch pieces. Sauté in butter, which will turn the meat to a lovely rosy color.
Lobster meat sautéed.
When the meat is a rosy color, add some cognac or brandy, and boil down until the liquid is nearly evaporated. Set aside.
Adding cognac
Making the Sauce
Combine milk and lobster-poaching liquid in a saucepan, and bring to a boil. In a separate saucepan, melt butter and stir in flour, whisking for several minutes without allowing it to color. Whisk in the boiling liquid, then simmer for several minutes, stirring occasionally. This is your velouté.
The velouté.
In a small bowl beat together 2 egg yolks and heavy cream. Reduce the heat on the velouté, and gradually pour the egg-yolk mixture into the velouté, stirring constantly. Cook for a couple minutes, being careful not to overheat or the eggs will scramble. This will give the sauce a lovely yellow color. Add drops of lemon juice, salt, and white pepper to taste.
Egg yolk and cream enrichment.
Assembling and Gratinéing
Spread a thin layer of the sauce into a buttered baking dish.
Film the casserole with sauce.
Add the lobster meat to the remaining sauce.
Add lobster to the velouté.
Stir in the green cups slice in half.
Stir in grapes.
Spoon the mixture into the baking dish, sprinkle with grated Swiss cheese, and dot with butter.
The assembled dish.
When you are ready to serve, place the dish in the upper third of a 400° oven until it begins to bubble. Run under a moderately hot broiler, just until the top is nicely browned.
The gratinéed dish.
I like to serve Lobster in Champagne Sauce and Green Grapes with a neutral green vegetable, such as sautéed grated zucchini which won’t compete with the dish, and a rice pilaf. Keep your accompaniments simple, as the lobster is very rich.
An ideal serving.
