Spiny lobster dishes featured at Cucina in Palm Beach

When it comes to lobster, Palm Beach restaurants typically feature Maine’s popular crustacean, but guests at Cucina also are being treated to another kind of lobster.

With his culinary team, Cucina’s executive chef and Florida native Kent Thurston has been serving dishes using Florida’s spiny lobster. Without big claws like Maine lobster, leggy Florida lobster, with its long antennae, is known for its sweet and nutty tail meat.

“I love Florida lobster and have for years,” Thurston, who grew up in North Palm Beach, told the Daily News. “It’s delicious and luxurious and comes from home (Florida).”

The annual commercial harvesting season for Florida spiny lobster started Aug. 6 after a two-day recreational season; it continues through March 31.

Cucina currently is serving daily specials featuring Florida lobster; prices of the specials on any given day are determined by the fluctuating daily market price.

Among Cucina’s Florida lobster specials: beignets and ravioli.

The beignets feature a mix dominated by diced lobster sauteed with garlic and shallots and then rolled into balls and dipped in a specially seasoned light-and-airy beer batter before frying. Served with a house-made grilled-lime aioli, a serving of beignets includes about a half-pound of lobster tail meat, Thurston said.

Made with a pasta dough enriched by black squid ink, the ravioli is filled with tail meat blended with a touch of béchamel. It is served with a seafood stock-based brandy cream sauce.

For more information, call Cucina at 561-855-7799 or visit www.cucinapalmbeach.com.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Daily News: Lobster beignets, ravioli among the menu offerings at Cucina