Name: Lobster Gelees with Fresh Tarragon Oil
Cook time: 1 3/4 hr
Total time: 5 1/4 hr
Yield: Makes 8 servings
Ingredients: 8 quarts water; 4 (1 1/4-lb) live lobsters; 1 cup dry white wine; 3 carrots, chopped; 2 celery ribs, chopped; 1 fennel bulb (sometimes labeled "anise") with fronds, stalks, and bulb chopped and fronds reserved for fresh tarragon oil; 1 medium onion, finely chopped; 3 large garlic cloves, minced; 3 (6-inch) plus 8 (1-inch) sprigs fresh tarragon; 1 teaspoon salt; 1/4 teaspoon fennel seeds, slightly crushed; 1/4 teaspoon dried hot red-pepper flakes; 2 1/2 teaspoons unflavored gelatin (from two 1/4-oz envelopes); 1 1/2 teaspoons tarragon white-wine vinegar; 1/3 cup fresh tarragon oil; Accompaniment: lobster claw toasts; a 10- to 12-qt pot; heavy-duty (sometimes labeled "fine") cheesecloth; 8 (5- to 6-oz) baba au rhum molds or ramekins

Image may contain Food Confectionery Sweets and Jelly

Lobster Gelees with Fresh Tarragon Oil

This dramatic first course won't soon be forgotten. Chunks of sweet lobster meat bound by a shimmering jelly of fennel-and-tarragon-scented lobster stock promises the most pristine lobster salad you'll ever taste.

Cooks' note:

Gelées can be chilled in molds up to 2 days.

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