Blue Cheese Lobster Beignets with Spicy Avocado Cream and Garden Vegetable Saute

Ingredients:

1 – 8 ounce lobster tail, shell removed and meat diced
1/3 cup mascarpone cheese (may sub cream cheese)
1/3 cup blue cheese, crumbled
1 tablespoon chives
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt

Batter:
1 1/3 cups flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup beer
canola oil, for frying

Spicy Avocado Cream:
1 avocado
1/2 cup greek yogurt
2 tablespoons prepared horseradish
1 tablespoon hot sauce

Garden Veggie Sauté:
3 slices bacon
2 tablespoon butter
1/4 of a sweet onion
1 jalapeno, seeded and minced (leave seeds in for more heat)
1 clove garlic, minced
2 ears corn, kernels removed
1 red pepper, chopped
1 cup sliced zucchini
1 cup halved cherry tomatoes
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
coarse salt and freshly ground pepper

Instructions:

Yield: 10-12 Beignets with extra Veggies

To make the avocado cream, place the avocado, greek yogurt, horseradish and hot sauce in a food processor or high powdered blender. Puree until smooth. Place in the fridge until ready to use.

Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add two tablespoons butter and the chopped lobster meat. Sauté until the lobster is cooked through, about 3 to 5 minutes. Remove and set the lobster aside to cool. Once the lobster has cooled add it to a medium bowl. Add the mascarpone or cream cheese, blue cheese, chives, cayenne, salt and pepper. Gently fold to combine. Set aside.

Pour oil into a large saucepan fitted with a deep-fry thermometer to a depth of 6 inches. Heat oil over medium-high heat until thermometer registers 375°. Meanwhile, whisk flour, baking powder, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a large bowl. Gradually whisk in beer, just to blend (batter will be thick).

Working in batches of about 4 and returning oil to 375° between batches, measure 1 heaping tablespoon lobster mixture, roll into a ball, and drop into batter. Using a fork (or your hands), toss to coat and lift from batter, letting excess drip back into bowl. Carefully lower beignets into oil. Fry, turning occasionally, until crisp and deep golden brown, about 4 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate and season with salt. Serve hot with the garden vegetable sauté (below) and the spicy avocado cream. To make the garden vegetable sauté heat a large skillet over medium high heat. To the pan add the bacon cook over medium heat until the fat has rendered and the bacon is crispy, about 7 minutes. Remove bacon from pan and set aside on paper towels to drain. Crumble once cooled. Drain all but 1 tablespoon bacon fat. If you are not using the bacon just add some butter to the pan. Add the onions and sauté until they start to soften, 3 minutes. Add the garlic, jalapeno pepper and red pepper. Toss in a pinch of salt and pepper. Cook another 30 seconds Add the corn, tomatoes and zucchini to the skillet and sauté until they start to brown, about 6 minutes. Season with a little salt as well. Remove from the heat. Serve along side the beignets.

From halfbakedharvest.com