Recipe: Colas de Langosta (Lobster the Oaxacan Way)

COLAS DE LANGOSTA (LOBSTER THE OAXACAN WAY)Source: The Food and Life of Oaxaca: Traditional Recipes from Mexico's Heart by Zarela Mart nez (Macmillan 1997)
Yield: 4 servings

Seafood and cheese sounds like an unorthodox combination; adding Mexican chocolate sounds like pure lunacy, but it works! I have adapted the recipe from one by Mar a Edith S nchez Sumano in an anthology of the best Oaxacan recipes collected by the Banco Rural (which has done a whole series on the cooking of all 31 Mexican states). Her recipe used the meat of a local spiny lobster, removed from the shell. I have had good results with rock lobster tails cooked in the shell, but if you prefer you could substitute the shelled uncooked meat of two 1 1/2-pound Maine lobsters. The cheese in the original was queso menonita, a sort of cheddar from the northern state of Chihuahua.

1 small onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoon chopped Italian parsley leaves
4 ounces medium-sharp white cheddar cheese, shredded
Half of a 3-ounce tablet Mexican chocolate, grated
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
Freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1/4 cup olive oil
2 cups dry white wine

Combine the onion, garlic and parsley in a small bowl. Add the cheese, chocolate, nutmeg, pepper, and salt; stir well to mix.

In a large, heavy lidded skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat until it ripples. Add the lobster tails and cook for 2 minutes, turning once. Remove the pan from the heat.

Arrange the lobster tails with the convex outer side up and distribute the onion-cheese mixture over each, mounding neatly on the shell. Pour the wine into the pan.

Return the pan to the stove and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Immediately cover, reduce the heat to medium, and cook until the lobster is cooked through, about 3-4 minutes.

Arrange the lobster on serving plates, pouring some of the pan juices over each serving.

Serve with plenty of plain steamed rice to soak up the savory juices.