Lobster cutlets II (cotelettes de homard à la russe)

About the dish

A cold party dish in French-Russian style from the fish chapter of "Stor kokebok" (1914). Lobster meat and caviar are bound with a white sauce, molded in small cutlet molds, glazed with fish aspic, and garnished with truffle—typical of the cold preparations of the era.

How to make it

1. 1

   Brown base sauce

   Slowly brown the butter and flour together and thin with brown bouillon and fish bouillon. Let the sauce steep gently for about 2 hours.

2. 2

   Reduce with tomato

   Add the cut-up tomatoes and reduce the sauce by half. Strain the sauce.

3. 3

   Aspic sauce

   Put the sauce back over the heat with truffle juice and fish aspic, and reduce it until it sets when cooled. Season carefully with spices and a little sherry. Pour it out and stir until cold.

4. 4

   Cutlet mixture

   Mix 200 g lobster meat and the caviar. Pound 100 g lobster meat together with 2 tbsp white sauce, stir in 2 tbsp half-whipped cream and a pinch of cayenne, and blend this into the lobster and caviar mixture together with the lobster forcemeat.

5. 5

   Mold in the forms

   Brush small cutlet molds with butter and fill them with the mixture. Set cold until the mixture is firm, and turn the cutlets out of the molds.

6. 6

   Coat and garnish

   Stir the lobster butter into the barely melted aspic sauce and coat the cutlets with it. Place a cut-out truffle slice on each cutlet.

7. 7

   Glazing

   Glaze the cutlets with cold, liquid fish aspic and set them cold until they are to be plated.

8. 8

   Plating

   Arrange the cutlets in a ring on a somewhat deep platter and fill the center with chopped white aspic. Serve Russian salad on the side.