ENTRY: lagosta
CLASS: noun
EQUIVALENT: lobster
DEFINITION: A shellfish which is usually cooked in water and salt before having the meat removed from the hard shell. The meat is then grilled or stir-fried in olive oil and garlic and served right away, or it is mixed with seasoning and sauce and put back to the shell before being served.
EXAMPLE: Heat olive oil, add lobster, onion, parsley and tomato and sauté until lobster and vegetables are cooked.
SOURCE: Brazilian Cooking
COMMENT: Very important in the economy of Ceará, where it is also produced for export, lobster fishing requires special care, as the predatory way in which it was long fished threatened the species with extinction. The tropical species found off Brazilian coast, known as ‘spiny lobsters’, belong to the Palinuridae family and are smaller than the ‘true lobsters’, from the family Nephropidae, found in cold waters. Besides their habitat, spiny lobsters are distinguished from true lobsters by the lack of claws on their front legs and by the presence of two long, thick and spiny antennae.
CLUSTERS: lobster meat; lobster tail.