Mediterranean lobster sauce

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 3 small fish(s), sea bream or other whole sea fish
• 1 liter of water
• 125 ml white wine, dry
• 1 bunch of vegetables, light soup greens (no carrots!)
• Mustard seeds
• peppercorns
• 1 bunch of herbs, from 3-4 stalks of thyme and bay leaf
• a few sprigs of dill
• 1 lobster shell (frozen lobster works here too)
• 500 ml fish stock
• 250 ml red wine, dry
• 250 ml sweet cream
• 1 bunch of vegetables (onion, soup greens, carrot and 1 small fennel bulb)
• 1 piece(s) ginger, small, optional
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 tsp tomato paste, a little more
• 50 g butter
• 50 g flour
• Mustard seeds
• peppercorns
• 1 bunch of herbs from 3 stalks of thyme, 1 rosemary and bay leaf
• some cognac, to taste
• some salt and pepper
• Oil, for frying

Instructions

Working time approx. 50 minutes; Total time approx. 50 minutes

For the fish stock: Fillet the sea bream, remove the skin, heads, and any bloody parts from the carcass. Rinse and roughly chop the bones. Set aside 2 sea bream fillets, diced into bite-sized pieces, for later “stretching.” Use the remaining fillets for something else. Clean the vegetables and cut them into walnut-sized cubes. Place the fish bones in the cold water and wine and bring to a boil. Skim off any foam that forms. Simmer for 10 minutes, then add the vegetables, spices, herb bunches, and whole dill stalks for the last 20 minutes. Simmer and carefully strain. Note: The spices can vary depending on how the stock is used, and fennel can also be added to the vegetables. This was not done here, however, as fennel bulbs were already planned for the lobster stock. The stock can also be made a day in advance. For the lobster sauce: Make a flour butter from the butter and flour and store in the refrigerator. You won’t need all of the flour butter. The rest can be kept in the fridge and used to thicken the sauce. Prepare the vegetables and cut them into walnut-sized cubes. Place the leek in a bowl separate from the other vegetables. Remove the lobster meat, cut it into bite-sized pieces, and set it aside. Roughly chop the upper part of the shell and add it to the other shell pieces. Brown the lobster carcasses in the oil. Note: if you want to use some shrimp to thicken the sauce, you can fry the shell scraps with the carcasses. Add the vegetables (without! the leek) and roast until nice and dark. This may take a while. Add the tomato paste and roast lightly. Deglaze the pan with the red wine three times (it should really sizzle), reducing each time until there is hardly any liquid left. Stir in the fish stock and cream and bring to a simmer. Now add the leek, spices, and bunches of herbs and simmer for about 20 minutes. Pass the sauce through a fine sieve, perfume with a little cognac, season with salt and ground pepper, and thicken with the flour and butter until thickened. Add the lobster meat and the sea bream fillet cubes to the sauce and cook the fish until just tender, but do not allow it to simmer. Serve with tagliatelle or simply baguette.