1. Clean
the Maine lobster bodies, removing
the intestines, lungs, and tomalley.
Crack the shells with a mallet.
2. Preheat
a medium sauce pot over high heat,
add the olive oil and when it smokes
add the Maine lobster shells. Sauté until
red and glistening. Add the shallots,
celery, carrot, and garlic. Sauté for
1 additional minute.
3. Flame
with brandy and then add the tarragon,
thyme, bay leaf, and tomato, and
cover all with water. Bring to a
simmer. Skim and simmer for 45 minutes
to an hour.
4.Strain
the stock, pounding with a wooden
spoon to extract the flavor. Put
it into a clean pan and reduce by
three-quarters (2 cups remaining
volume) over a medium heat until
flavorful. Add the crème fraîche
and cook until hot and slightly
thick, 2-3 minutes. Adjust the
seasoning and chill if not serving
immediately.
5. For
the tortellini filling: mix
the bread crumbs with ½ cup
of cream and allow to soften.
Grind the Maine lobster with egg white
and the soaked crumbs until smooth.
Season with salt and cayenne.
With the food processor running
add the cream in a steady stream
and run only until incorporated.
Pass forcemeat through a tamis
into a bowl over ice. Gently
stir in the truffle oil, chives,
and the truffles. Test the forcemeat
and adjust with either egg white
or more cream (shouldn’t
be necessary).
6. Roll
out the pasta into a long, 6-inch-wide
strip. Cut the dough into 3-inch
rounds. Moisten the edges with water and place ½-teaspoon mounds of forcemeat
in the center of the pasta (a pastry bags works well for this job). Fold the
pasta over the filling to form a semi-circle, pressing the edges together. Push
your thumb into the filling from the straight edge and bring the two tips together.
Moisten one of the tips with water and press the other tip to it until it sticks.
Reserve on a tray dusted with flour under refrigeration until ready to cook.
7. Boil
tortellini in salted water for
about 4 minutes. Warm the sauce
until hot. Serve 8 tortellini with
a ladle of sauce and top with a
delicate herb salad made of 2 tablespoons
celery leaves, 2 tablespoons parsley
leaves, 2 teaspoons tarragon leaves,
and 2 tablespoons thinly shredded
green onion. This salad should
be soaked briefly in iced water
to assure the herbs are ultra-fresh
and lively.
Note:
for pasta dough, mix together 8
ounces all-purpose flour, 5 egg
yolks, 1 egg, 2 teaspoons oil,
and 1 tablespoon of water into
a homogenous dough and knead until
smooth and resilient, 8-10 minutes.
Allow to rest for 30 minutes before
rolling and shaping.
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