John said this was one of the best things he's ever tasted! It was delicious, beautiful fresh flavors. There are a quite a few components to this Wolfgang Puck recipe, so mise en place (getting everything ready and in place) is very important. Start by making the tomato soup. Sweat onions, ginger, garlic and green onions for about 2 minutes. Add kaffir lime leaf (or if not available, lime rind) and crushed lemongrass. Cook for another minute. Add fresh, peeled plum tomatoes, tomato paste, a little sugar and season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, lower to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes. Remove the lime leaf and lemongrass. Transfer to a blender (or use a hand-held submersion blender), add butter and chili oil and process to a puree. Strain through a chinois (or fine mesh strainer) and chill over a bowl of ice.
Next make the pea soup. Sweat onions, ginger, garlic and green onions for about 2 minutes. Add Thai basil and coconut milk. Bring to a boil, lower to a simmer and add peas. Season with a little sugar, salt and pepper and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove the Thai basil. Transfer to a blender (or use a hand-held submersion blender), add butter and process to a puree. Strain through a chinois (or fine mesh strainer) and chill over a bowl of ice.
Prepare an Asian vinaigrette by whisking together rice wine vinegar, sesame oil, peanut oil (I use canola oil), soy sauce and lemon juice. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Reserve until ready to use. When I tasted this vinaigrette it tasted very acidic and I wished I hadn't used as much lemon juice as the recipe called for. But when it was mixed with the lobster salad and micro-greens it was the perfect ratio.
Now the lobster salad. Combine cooked, diced lobster meat (I had saved enough lobster I had poached in butter for dinner last night - not an easy thing to do) with diced mango, Thai basil chiffonade, Asian Vinaigrette and season with salt and pepper. Chill until ready to serve.
Ready to plate and serve! Place a 2-inch mold ring in center of a soup plate. Spoon the lobster salad inside the ring. Press into the mold. Ladle the tomato soup on one side of the ring and the pea soup on the other. Decorate the soup by placing a spoonful of contrasting soups over the plated soups. Mix micro-greens and chopped herbs with more of the Asian Vinaigrette and season with salt and pepper. Top lobster salad with micro green mixture and carefully remove the ring. Serve immediately and enjoy an incredible flavor combination.
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