Dinner at Pimms begins with the ‘Pimms Ritual,’ when your hostess leads you to a limestone sink where you begin your cleansing ritual. Coconut milk is placed in one hand, and sea salt in the other and you scrub, lather and rinse. Your silky smooth hands are now ready to dig into your meal. If you are looking for a great wine pairing Pimms has a cellar with over 3,000 bottles. We are sure you will have no problem finding something to suit your palate.
Our local insider raves about the lobster bisque and Conch Carpaccio calling the food at Pimms absolutely exquisite. We reached out to Chef Clero at Pimms who was only too happy to provide us with both recipes!
LOBSTER BISQUE
Courtesy of Chef Johnny Clero of Pimms at Belmond Cap Juluca
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Anguilla is famous for its abundant and fresh lobster. The lobster bisque at Pimms is one of the restaurant’s most iconic dishes, marrying traditional French technique with the vibrant local ingredients of the island.
Ingredients:
Lobster Stock: Whole lobster, onion, carrot, leeks, celery, fennel, fresh thyme, bay leaves, fresh garlic, parsley stalk, whole black peppercorn, sea salt
Lobster Bisque: Lobster heads, onion, carrot, leeks, fennel, celery, olive oil, pastis, white wine, tomato paste, fresh tomato, lemongrass, ginger root, fresh thyme, bay leaves, star anise, whole black peppercorn and coriander seed, fresh orange (quartered), heavy cream, fresh garlic, sea salt, parsley stalk
Preparation:
Lobster Stock: In a large stock pot, bring some water to a boil with some sea salt and a mirepoix of carrot, onion, celery, fennel. Cook the whole lobster for about 15 minutes then place the lobster in icy water to stop the cooking process. Crack the lobsters, reserve the meat and the lobster stock for later.
Lobster bisque: Heat a large soup pot on medium heat, add olive oil and roast the lobster carcasses for about 10 minutes. Use a mortar to break up the heads. Add some butter, the vegetable mirepoix and all the spices, cook for about 10 minutes on low heat until the vegetables are lightly caramelized. Deglaze the pan with pastis liqueur and burn off the alcohol. Add the tomato paste, fresh tomatoes, and cook for about 5 minutes. Pour in the white wine and reduce by half. Top off with the lobster stock, just enough to cover the shells, and reduce by half. Add the heavy cream, lemongrass, oranges and parsley stock and bring to a boil. Cook on low heat for about 2 hours. Strain through a fine sieve. adjust seasoning and reserve.
To serve: Cut the lobster meat into small chunks, and warm it up in some of the lobster bisque. At the same time bring to a boil the rest of the lobster bisque. When ready to serve, place the warm lobster meat in a soup bowl. With a hand blender emulsify the lobster bisque then gently pour over the lobster meat. Garnish with a drizzle of olive oil, chervil or chives.
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CONCH CARPACCIO
Courtesy of Chef Johnny Clero of Pimms at Belmond Cap Juluca
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The Anguillian Queen Conch Carpaccio at Pimms is served with passion fruit, coriander and avocado, bright notes to accentuate the Caribbean sea's fresh, unique bounty.
Ingredients:
Conch Carpaccio: Conch, lime juice & zest, salt & pepper
Passion Fruit Dressing: fresh passion fruit and passion fruit purée, lime juice, fresh hot pepper, freshly grated ginger, salt & pepper
Garnishes: Fresh cilantro and mint, finely sliced avocado and jalapeño, orange and grapefruit segments, red pickled onion
Preparation:
Passion Fruit Marinade
Cut the passion fruit in half and scoop the pulp into a sieve set over a bowl. Rub the passion fruit pulp through the sieve to extract the juice, keep half of the seeds for later. Add the passion fruit puree with lime juice, fresh goat pepper, ginger and salt in a blender with the passion fruit juice. Add the seeds of the passion fruit that you reserved, check seasoning then set aside.
Conch Carpaccio
Clean and pound the conch until soft, add salt, pepper, lime zest and lime juice. Let marinade overnight then roll the conch with plastic wrap, make sure you are getting a tied cylinder as much as you can then place in the freezer for at least 1 day. Slice the conch cylinder with the ham slicer and place the finely sliced conch onto a greaseproof pastry paper. Keep the conch carpaccio in the freezer. Make sure to take it out of the freezer approximately 10 min before garnishing and serve.
Orange & Grapefruit Tartar
Peel the orange and grapefruit; to easily peel the fruit, cut a slice off of each end and stand the fruit on one of the cut ends. Use a paring knife to carve along the shape of the fruit, cutting away the white pith with the peels. To realize the segments, hold the orange in your hand, with a sharp knife, carefully cut between a segment and the membrane. Do not cut all the way through, just to the center of the citrus. Give it a little twist and peel the segment away from the other connective membrane. Be gentle and watch your fingers! Repeat, working your way around the citrus. Reserve in the citrus juice.
Plating
Place the conch carpaccio on the serving plate, it's easier to do this step when the carpaccio is still half frozen. Let the conch completely defrost then pour approximately 2 Tbsp of the passion fruit marinade over. Garnish with small dices of grapefruit and oranges, 3 fine slices of avocado, 3 fine slices of fresh jalapeno and 3 pieces of pickled red onions. Finish the plating with a few leaves of cilantro and fresh mint leaves.
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