Serving lobster for Thanksgiving is actually more traditional than tucking into turkey, cranberry sauce or pumpkin pie. Shellfish such a lobster, clams and mussels were a common part of the Native American diet in 1621 and likely formed part of the original Thanksgiving Day feast.
Because
I grew up in a lobster fishing family, lobster has almost always featured in my Thanksgiving celebrations. In my home town, lobster and clams are often steamed prior to the Thanksgiving dinner and served as part of a communal meal (the lobster meat is picked out prior to the meal and served buffet style alongside turkey and other traditional Thanksgiving dishes). Other friends of mine plate up boiled lobster as the focal point of their Thanksgiving feast, skipping the turkey all together.
This year I wanted to try a more innovative lobster dish for Thanksgiving. I love lobster ravioli and I love pumpkin ravioli so I decided to combine the two and I must say the result was delicious. The mixture is a wonderful blend of savory and sweet and the incorporation of pumpkin and nutmeg make it a fabulous first course to your Thanksgiving feast.
Lobster, ricotta and pumpkin ravioli
Author: Christina Lemieux
Recipe type: Main
Cuisine: Italian
Serves: 6
- Meat from four pound and a half lobsters (the meat from one small lobster should be enough for two guests)
- Six tablespoons of butter
- One Cup of milk
- Two tablespoons of butter
- A pinch of nutmeg
- A pinch of Cayenne pepper
- Salt and Pepper to taste
- A cup of ricotta cheese
- 4 tablespoons of mascarpone cheese
- 3 tablespoons of canned pumpkin
- fresh egg noodle lasagna sheets (or you can make your own ravioli pasta from scratch if you have the equipment)
- Two tablespoons of melted butter for sealing up the ravioli
- Cook the lobsters and pick out the meat.
- Hand tear the meat into very small chunks (about the size of a dime).
- Sauté the lobster meat in a frypan with the butter for about 4 minutes.
- Add the flour and milk and keep stirring over a low heat until you have a nice wet sauce around the lobster
- Turn off the heat and tir in a the ricotta and mascarpone cheese cheese and the canned pumpkin. Keep tasting the mixture and if you desire a slightly creamer, sweeter mixture, add in a bit more mascarpone.
- Flavor with nutmeg, Cayenne pepper, salt and pepper.
- Cut the egg noodles (or your homemade pasta) into 40 ravioli-sized squares and add a dollop of the lobster mixture to half of the squares and rub all edges of those pasta squares with melted butter.
- Add the top square of pasta to each ravioli and seal all the edges, making sure all air is out of the pocket. I press a fork along the edges of the ravioli to ensure they're properly sealed.
- Bring a large pot of water to a gentle boil and drop the ravioli in 3 or 4 at a time, making sure not to overcrowd the pot.
- Cook for about 5 minutes or until done.
- Serve with a light, buttery sauce such as my champagne sauce.
The ravioli can be assembled in the morning of and placed in the fridge so all you have to do is cook the ravioli 15 minutes before serving.
Serving size: 6 (appetizer)
Lobster, pumpkin and ricotta ravioli being assembled.
The quantities I’ve provided in this recipe work well as an appetiser and should serve about six people, with each person having three large ravioli. I have not included a recipe for a sauce to serve with this dish but it would go well with a
champagne sauce. I would serve this dish with a nice White Burgundy wine.
About Christina Lemieux
Christina Lemieux Oragano grew up in Cutler, Maine, where her family have been in the lobster industry for four generations. She worked as a stern'man' on her father's boat for ten summers before graduating from college and beginning a career in advertising. While her job has taken her from Maine to San Francisco, New York and then to London, she has remained committed and connected to the Maine lobster industry. Her blogging, book writing, and experimentation with lobster recipes are testimony to her devotion to America's favorite crustacean.
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