LOBSTER THERMIDOR

By jarren

Ingredients

• Make 1 cup Bechamel Sauce (next 6 ingredients):
• 2 large lobster tails
• 1/4 cup butter, melted
• 1/2 clove garlic, minced
• 2 tbsp butter
• 1 lb fresh mushrooms, thinly sliced
• 2-3 shallots, finely chopped
• 4 tbsp butter
• 3 tbsp flour
• 1/2 cup lobster, fish or chicken stock
• 1 cup whole milk
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Pinch of nutmeg
• 2/3 cup white wine
• 3 tbsp sherry
• 1 cup lobster, fish or chicken stock
• 2 tbsp chopped tarragon
• 2 tbsp chopped parsley
• 3/4 cup whipping cream
• 2 egg yolks
• 1 tsp dry mustard
• Salt to taste
• 4 tbsp Parmesan cheese
• 2 tbsp brown panko breadcrumbs
• Sweet or hot paprika to garnish

Details

Servings 4
Preparation time 30mins
Cooking time 50mins

Preparation

Step 1

Remove lobster tails from shells, leaving top side of shell intact. Combine melted butter and garlic. Cook lobster tails at 400F, turning once, 7 minutes on top side and 4 minutes on bottom side (can use broiler at end of cooking time to brown further). Let lobster meat cool and then chop coarsely.

In a frying pan, melt the 2 tbsp of butter and cook the mushrooms and shallots until lightly browned.

Make the bechamel sauce - Melt the 4 tbsp of butter, add the 3 tbsp of flour and cook until it is blond, about 3-4 minutes. Add the lobster stock and stir well to combine. Let this come to a simmer, then slowly add the milk, whisking all the while. Let this come to a simmer, then add some salt and pepper to taste, then the nutmeg. Do not let this boil.

In a small frying pan, add the wine, sherry, lobster stock, tarragon, parsley and boil it down until it is thick, almost a glaze. Add this glaze to the béchamel sauce and stir well to combine.

Mix the whipping cream with the egg yolks, then slowly add some of the bechamel-glaze mixture to the cream, stirring all the while. When you get about 1/2 cup of the hot mixture into the cream, pour it all back into the rest of the bechamel-glaze mixture. What you are doing here is tempering the cream-egg mixture, so you do not get scrambled eggs in your sauce. Again, do not let this boil. Add the dry mustard and some salt to taste. The sauce should be pretty thick (if it needs thickening, add instant blend flour until desired thickness - do not let boil). When it is, add the lobster and mushrooms and mix well.

Fill the empty lobster shells with the lobster mixture, sprinkle with Parmesan and panko breadcrumbs. Brown in a 375F oven for a few minutes. Sprinkle with paprika and serve.