Fritters and Lime? A different take on a local dish
Hi everyone; it’s been a long time! But I’m back and so much has happened in the last two years.
The last time we spoke I was a Chef de Partie at Constantine; now a Chef de partie is a supervisor amongst line cooks. It’s a junior management role, where you learn to grow and accept small responsibilities.
Fast forward two years later and now I’m the chef de cuisine at a Mediterranean/ Middle Eastern Restaurant called Byblos Uptown (there is a downtown location). We will talk more about the challenges I face daily in this role. Today we are going to talk about lobster fritters with a charred lime emulsion.
Fritters or fish cakes are a very normal snack in the Caribbean, whether it be crab, lobster or fish. They are usually extremely flaky in texture whereas this recipe is a little bit different because the batter itself is a pâte à choux base. Now pâte à choux is a light pastry dough used in many pastries. It contains only butter, water, flour and eggs. Instead of a raising agent, it employs high moisture content to create steam during cooking to puff the pastry.
The first time I saw a “fritter” recipe using a pâte à choux recipe was back when I was at Constantine. Back then it was with swiss chard, it was a very “green” batter. It was good but this one appeals more to my Caribbean palate. Let’s get to it then.
Lobster “Pâte à choux” Fritter Batter
100 G Lobster infused butter
Salt
300 G Water
180 G Flour
3 Eggs
250-260 G Lobster Tail
3-4 G Dried Mussel/ Shrimp Powder
6 G Chili / Aleppo
Charred Lime emulsion
5 Lime
8 Lime (Zest)
2 Egg Yolk
1/2 tsp Dijon Mustard
2 G Persian Dried Lime
10 G Chardonnay Vinegar
250 G Grape seed oil
Clean your lobster, save the shells and start poaching in 1 lb butter slowly, strain and reserve after 1 hour of cooking. Poach your tail for 5 minutes, blanch, remove shell and reserve.
Chopped peeled lobster and fine as possible, reserve.
Get a medium-size pot and add water, butter and salt to taste, bring to a boil. Once it is boiled add the flour and mix until mixture “peels” off the inside of the pot. That means that the batter is ready.
Add Mixture to Kitchen Aid mixer with lobster, mussel powder, Aleppo Powder & chopped lobster. Mix on medium speed, then add an egg every two minutes to really incorporate the eggs properly in mixture.
Taste the batter and adjust seasoning, keep in mind that you will be salting once it’s finished in the fryer.
Let Batter sit for 24 to really let the lobster flavor get in there.
Charred Lime emulsion time.
Zest all 8 limes, put on a sheet tray with parchment paper. Put in oven at 400F until brown or almost burnt.
Use the limes you’ve zested and cut a small piece of each end of the line then cut the lime in half horizontally so it can sit flat. Once the lime zest if finished, reserve for later. Change the paper and put the limes on the tray cut side up and broil until burnt.
Once the limes are finished, juice and reserve. With the Persian lime you will need to break it so you can zest It properly into the mix, if you have a lot, blend it and make a powder, save it for later.
In a small bowl mix the egg yolks, salt, pepper, vinegar, Dijon, lime juice, zest and Persian dried lime using a whisk. Whisk vigorously and slowly add oil until your emulsion is nice and thick. Its not going to be as thick as mayonnaise because that’s not what we are trying to attain. Adjust the seasoning if need be, it will extremely tangy; that’s normal.
Get a pot of oil on a medium to high heat on the stove, use a fryer at 350F if you have one.
With the stove method, it’s a little playing around with the heat to find the right temp, use small amounts of the lobster mixture to find the right frying temperature. Once you found the right temperature. Fry in small batches using a spoon to make the shape, fry until your batter turns golden yellow or starts to float. Once it is done, put them on a plate with a paper towel to absorb the moisture, season with salt.
Get the emulsion, put it on a plate, and snack away.