Although summer is peak lobster season, local trappers like Phil Karlin of the Greenmarket’s PE&DD Seafood begin hauling in their pots from Long Island Sound at a steady clip right about now. The industry, which suffered a devastating die-off in 1999, may be showing signs of recovery, according to Karlin, who says the lobsters he’s been catching lately are first rate—“full of meat, and awfully sweet.” Try a couple in this recipe from Gray Kunz, no stranger to luxury items, which he’ll be serving in spades at Grayz, his swanky finger-food lounge, scheduled to open in October. --Robin Raisfeld & Rob Patronite

Ingredients

For the Vinaigrette
2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon blood-orange juice (preferably fresh, but frozen will do)
1 tablespoon lime juice
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon medium hot chili oil
2 teaspoons orange-flower syrup (or substitute orange preserves)
Sea salt to taste
Sugar to taste

For the Lobster
Two 11/4-pound lobsters
2–4 segments blood orange or regular orange, diced
1 breakfast radish, thinly sliced
2 teaspoons red tobiko (available at Sunrise Mart)
1 teaspoon chives, chopped
Fleur de sel to taste

Instructions

For the Granité
Combine 1 cup water, 1 oz. lime juice, 1 oz. sugar, 1 oz. citron-flavored vodka, and a pinch of salt in a deep bowl. Place in freezer until the top layer is frozen, then break up with a whisk. Repeat the process until all the liquid is frozen and you have large flaky crystals. Then mix in the zest of one finely chopped orange.

For the Taro Root
Thinly slice and julienne one small taro root. In a sauté pan, fry the julienned taro in hot grapeseed oil until crisp. Place on a towel to drain and season immediately with 1 tablespoon roughly ground coriander, two pods of crushed cardamom (seeds only), and salt.

To Plate
Place the lobster seviche on top of a small scoop of the lime granité in a martini or shot glass, and garnish with the fried taro root.

Combine the extra-virgin olive oil, blood-orange juice, lime and lemon juices, chili oil, orange-flower syrup, sea salt and sugar, and mix well. Set aside. Bring three quarts of salted water to a boil. With apologies to David Foster Wallace, (1) plunge lobsters head first into boiling water, cover pot, and blanch for 60 seconds. Remove lobsters and, with a strong knife or kitchen scissors, separate the tail and the claws from the body of each. (Save the bodies for lobster stock if you like.) Return the claws to the boiling water for another 3-5 minutes, and remove from pot. (The claw meat is ready when the “thumb” pulls away easily.) (2) Remove the meat from the tails and claws, and (3) dice into 1/4-inch pieces. In a small bowl, gently mix the lobster meat with the diced blood orange, breakfast radish, tobiko, and chives. Season to taste with the vinaigrette and the fleur de sel. Serve over a small scoop of lemon sorbet in a martini glass with a little crushed taro, potato chip, or fried wonton skin over the top to add crunch.

(Published 2006)