Black Garlic Lobster Risotto

나는 강아지를 너무 사랑해요 😍. 남편은 나를 "미친 강아지 아줌마"라고 해요 😂. 나는 강아지를 볼 수 있으려고 조깅을 해요 😅. 게다가 우리 동네의 강아지 주인들은 모두 나를 "강아지를 사랑하는 아줌마"로 알고 있어요. 내가 길 건너편에 있어때도 강아지 주인들이 나를 알아보기 때문에 자주 손을 흔들어.

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It appears that our little island has just caught on to the superfood that is black garlic: whereas I could only find the fermented allium in the farmers markets of Australia or New Zealand, the mushy inky-black bulb is now readily available in many specialty grocers. The fact that some NTUCs, the choice supermarket of the masses, also retail black garlic speaks to its inevitable ubiquity. 

 

I love black garlic for its expansive versatility, its usage spans both Asian recipes as well as western ones: I've seen black garlic employed:- to accent a Chinese-style steamed cod (the dish is offered at Cassia and absolutely delicious); as the main component of a sirloin jus in New Zealand; to imbue umami-ness countering the smoky char of a grilled octopus in Mexican cuisine; and to mellow out a robust beef tartare at modern-fusion restaurant Meta. 

 

In this case, I'd chosen to flavour a risotto with black garlic: its soy sauce-like notes lend a moreish savouriness to the full-bodied sweetness of lobster stock. Fresh thyme and a squirt of lemon juice provide a perky lilt, while porcini mushrooms ground the whole shebang with their woody earthiness.

Ingredients (feeds about 4):

 

2 cups arborio rice

1 cup sake

1L chicken stock (keep simmering hot in a separate pot)

1L lobster stock (keep simmering in a separate pot infused with 4-6 sprigs of fresh thyme)

2 medium sized red onions, minced (makes about 1 cup)

4 cloves garlic, bashed lightly

1 head black garlic, peeled and roughly chopped

10 porcini mushrooms

4 lobster tails (I apportioned 1 tail per person but feel free to up this as u like)

2 cups freshly grated pecorino

1 cup edamame beans

2 tsp lemon zest

1 tbsp lemon juice

4 sprigs fresh thyme

2 tbsp butter

3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil 

additional sprig or two of fresh thyme for garnishing

 

 

Directions:

 

1) Fry porcini mushrooms in about 1 tbsp olive oil, salting them for flavour, until water released is evaporated. Cut into 1" cubes and set aside. Don't worry about the crud of the mushrooms stuck onto the pan, leave them be, as that crud will meld into the risotto when simmering in stock.

2) Using the same pan (with the porcini crud), fry garlic with 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil on low heat, until fragrant but not burning, about 1 minute. 

3) Still on low heat, add a knob of butter (about 1 tbsp) swirling to melt it through, about 1 minute. Remove the garlic and toss them, (as chef Anne Burrell says, they've fulfilled their garlic destiny) as we only want a garlic-accented olive oil-butter.

4) Add onions, turn on heat to medium-high, and fry till translucent, about 3 minutes.

5) Add rice, dry fry for about a minute to make it "toasty".

6) Add sake, stirring it through until it is almost absorbed, then add the stock, a cup at a time and alternating between the chicken and lobster stock. This will take time, and about 9 iterations of stock adding, until rice is "al dente" (if u look closely, you will see that the grain is just halfway translucent).

7) In the meantime, boil lobster tails in salted water. Drain, deshell, and cut up into bite-sized cubes.

8) At the 4th or 5th addition of stock, add black garlic, squishing with your spatula so it melts into the risotto.

9) At the 7th or 8th addition of stock, return the pre-cooked porcini mushrooms to the pan, tossing through.

10) When stirring through the last addition of stock, add lobster meat, tossing through.

11) Add edamame.

12) Turn heat down to low and add cheese, stirring through.

13) Turn off heat and add a knob of butter (about 2 tbsp) and swirl it through.

14) Finish with a drizzle of lemon juice, a sprinkle of lemon zest, and additional fresh thyme, and serve.