Article From the Conchal Style Magazine 2006 - Green Season

A New Look at How to Cook Lobster

Katharina's labor of love as grown into a Tamarindo mainstay. El Coconut has a tranquile setting and unforgettable food. Most of the restaurant is outdoors, and the dark wood floors and walls fit into the Tico design aesthetic, and a cozy bar area is deal for a pre-meal cocktail or after-dinner glass of wine.

Restaurants in Guanacaste have the good fortune of having some of the world's best fresh seafood available on a daily basis. From marlin and mahi mahi to a multitude of shellfish, the variety of seafood you'll see across restaurant menus is mouth-watering.

The variety goes beyond the types of fish to the creativity involved in preparing it. El Coconut in Tamarindo has a particularly interesting lobster dish called Lobster Tropical. If you've seen it presented at El Coconut, you might think it would be an especially intricate dish to prepare. Not true, say Katharina, the restaurant owner.

"If you think of cooking in terms of easy or difficult, this is easy, easy, easy," she says. "It is really so easy and so good. Most lobster dishes are very simple - grilled or sauteed with garlic and butter. That's very good, but there are other ways to prepare lobster. With Lobster Tropical, the lobster picks up some of the fruit flavoring and there is also created a sauce that has magnificent flavor.

"When the dish is described, people are curious about it because they've never had anything like it. I tell them to take a chance - and I've never had anyone say they regretted it."

Here's how Katharina suggests making Lobster Tropical in your own kitchen with just 10 minutes of prep time and 10 minutes of cooking"

Finding the freshest lobster

"If the lobster isn't fresh, it isn't going to be good. I look for three things to show me that a lobster is fresh. First, I want the shell to be firm. Second, I want there to be no fishy smell. and third, I pull back the head of the lobster and look inside the shell. If the meat is white or almost ransparent, it is fresh. But, if it is black or dark-colored, that means that it has been frozend or has been out of the water too long."

Prepping the lobster

"To cut open the lobster, put it on its stomach. Cut from the top of the head down through the center of the body. You can discard the stomach and any other bits you don't want to eat. Pull out the rest of the meat and chop it up into pieces that are about two fingers wide. Then boil the shell- it will chane color and become sterilized, and you can put the meat back inside when you're done to serve the finished dish. I like to garnish the plate with some pineapple leaves for a finishing touch."

Time to cook

"Put the chunks of lobster meat into a pan with small chunks of pineapple, small black raisins and a dash of ginger. Sautee everything until it becomes very fragrant, usually about 10 minues, then add a splash of cream. We don't work with caps and tablespoons - everything here is a pinch of this and a splash of that. "That's jus how we do ti."

Something on the side

" It is hard to make good rice, but try this: Start with some olive oil and onion cut into very small pieces. Than add a little red peper, chopped fine, and simmer them all together for a few minutes. Add the rice and keep simmering just until the rice starts to get crusty. Then add a cup of water and turn up the heat until it simmers again, and turn it down to the lowest heat. You'll get a great batch of rice that will complement any meal."

A bottle of white wine

"I would pair a mild white wine with Lobster Tropical. I would personally suggest a bottle Marques de Cacerers, a Spanish white. It has notes of raisins, which would beautifully with the lobster. You could also go with a chardonnay."

A finishing touch

"For dessert I would make a coconut cup. That's a scoop of coconut ice cream with a shot of Malibu coconut-flavored um poured over it. Top it with fresh grated cocoa and a strawberry or cherry for color. That would give you a differnet set of flavors for the Lobster Tropical, but still give you a nice finishing combination of fruit and chocolate."