Wine Importing and Marketing Services

Grilled Lobster with Swiss Chard and Pink Grapefruit Beurre Blanc

Grilled Lobster with Swiss Chard and Pink Grapefruit Beurre Blanc and Chardonnay. / Photo by: Robert Bredvad / Food Styling: Judy Kim / Prop Styling: Paige Hicks

Recipe courtesy Andrew Manning, executive chef at Longoven, Richmond, VA

Longoven serves an ever-changing seasonal tasting menu alongside one of Richmond’s best wine lists, with about 200 mostly Old World selections. Each component of this dish cooks quickly, making it an extravagant weeknight dish for multitaskers.

Ingredients
¼ cup white vinegar
4 lobster tails
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small red onion, minced
1 bunch Swiss chard, rinsed and roughly chopped (about 3 cups chopped)
¼ teaspoon kosher or sea salt, plus more to taste
¼ cup Chablis or other dry white wine
¼ cup unseasoned rice vinegar
1 shallot, minced
12 tablespoons (1½ sticks) unsalted butter
¼ cup grapefruit suprèmes (skinless segments), thinly sliced

Directions

Add white vinegar to a pot of well-salted water and bring to a boil. Turn off heat and place lobster in the water for 4 minutes. Transfer lobster to a bowl of ice water to cool. Remove whole tail meat and reserve.

Heat oil in a sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add onion and cook 1–2 minutes until it starts to soften. Add chard and cook until chard and onion are tender, about 3 minutes longer. Season with salt to taste and keep warm over low heat.

Boil wine, rice vinegar, shallot and ¼ teaspoon kosher or sea salt in a saucepan until reduced by about half.

While liquid is reducing, preheat outdoor grill or stovetop grill pan. Melt 4 tablespoons butter over low heat and keep warm.

Remove reduced sauce from heat and whisk in 8 tablespoons butter, cut into small cubes, piece by piece until fully melted and incorporated into a smooth sauce (return the pan to low heat if necessary to melt butter). Whisk in the grapefruit pieces and cover with foil to keep sauce warm.

Brush lobster tails with melted butter, and season with salt. Grill over high heat, turning once, until lightly charred and heated through, about 2 minutes total. Serve lobster over chard, with grapefruit sauce spooned on top as desired. Serves 4.

Wine Pairing

Domaine Jean Dauvissat Père et Fils 2019 Côte de Léchet Premier Cru (Chablis)

“This Chablis has a slight smokiness from reductive winemaking, which is a great flavor match for anything off the grill,” says Grayum Vickers, sommelier at Longoven. “Further, the terroir of Chablis—Kimmeridgian limestone made from deposited and fossilized seashells—gives the wine a certain salinity and mineral tone which makes it a knockout with lobster. The dish’s creamy sauce harmonizes with the texture of the wine, which is rich and luscious due to extended lees contact. This Chablis shows expressive bright citrus tones, lending an elevated compatibility with the grapefruit element of the dish.”