Aishling Moore: Lobster to get your claws into over the festive season

Lobster thermidore by Aishling Moore. Picture: Chani Anderson.

If, like me, Christmas is your time to indulge in the finer things in life, then this recipe is for you. Lobster, being one of the more expensive species in the sea, is usually not an ingredient that would feature on my weekly shopping list but this time of year it’s nice to treat yourself.

I also tend not to liberally cover pristine and costly ingredients in bubbling cream and blistering cheese however, there are a few exceptions and this weekend’s Lobster Thermidor is right up at the top of that list.

Crustaceans like lobster, crab and langoustine are naturally sweet in flavour, so they work so well with the seasoning of aged cheese. This classic French dish, typically includes Gruyère, a nutty and robust Swiss cheese.

When a recipe I’m cooking calls for an easy–melting cheese like Gruyère, East Cork's Templegall is what I’ll always use. It’s a special cheese and one of my favourites, made using raw milk from Hegarty’s own herd and aged for a minimum of 9 months. An excellent inclusion on a cheese board, it's also fantastic in a toasty and the perfect cheese for this dish.

The trickiest part of this recipe is in the dispatching and preparation of the lobster before it can be smothered generously in a punchy sauce and gratinated. I’ve included step-by-step instructions below on how to tackle cooking and handling a whole live lobster. This time of year, though, you may find cooked whole lobsters in the supermarket, but where would the fun be in that?

I’ve served this opulent dish with a wedge of lemon and very simple salad of baby gem lettuce and snipped soft herbs like dill, chervil and chive. Dress the leaves quickly in a sharp apple cider vinegar and Dijon mustard dressing to cut the fat.

Lobster Thermidore

recipe by:Aishling Moore

The trickiest part of this recipe is in the dispatching and preparation of the lobster before it can be smothered generously in a punchy sauce and gratinated. I’ve included step-by-step instructions below on how to tackle cooking and handling a whole live

Servings

2

Preparation Time

 31 mins

Cooking Time

 12 mins

Total Time

 43 mins

Course

 Main

Ingredients

• 2x lobster (each 600g-800g)

• 2tb unsalted butter

• 1 shallot, finely diced

• 2 cloves garlic, minced

• 75ml white wine

• 100ml cream

• 1 pinch cayenne

• 1 tsp Dijon mustard

• 80g cheese

Method

1. To prepare the lobster, bring a large heavy-based pot of water to a rolling boil. Season with sea salt.

2. To dispatch the lobster, place the tip of a sharp chef knife right behind the eyes of the lobster, press down and glide the knife through the head of the lobster.

3. Add the dispatched lobster to the pot, lower the heat and cook for 8-12 minutes until the lobster turns bright red.

4. Remove from the pot and chill in a bowl of ice water for 3 minutes to stop the cooking.

5. Place the lobster belly-side down on a chopping board.

6. Twist the claws to remove them from the body.

7. Crack the shells with a knife to remove the claw meat from the shells. Set aside.

8. Using the previous incision from earlier (right in between the eyes) cut in half, lengthways, from the head right down to and through the tail.

9. Free the tail meat from the shell and remove and discard the intestinal tract from the meat. Set aside.

10. Remove the stomach sac from the lobster. Remove the liver and any roe from the head and set aside for use in the sauce.

11. Transfer the cleaned frame of the lobster to a baking tray.

12. Cut the claw and tail meat into chunks and return to the shell making sure there is a mix of both in each half of the lobster.

13. To make the thermidor, melt the butter in a small pot and sweat the shallot and minced garlic over a low heat until softened.</p><p>Add the white wine, turn up the heat to medium-high and reduce until almost completely evaporated. Add the cream and reduce by half.

14. Add the cayenne pepper, Dijon mustard, cheese and mix well to melt the cheese.

15. Remove from the heat and stir in the reserved liver and roe.

16. Preheat a grill to high, spoon the thermidor sauce over the lobster meat-filled shell halves and grill for 3-4 minutes until golden.

Fish tales

· When buying a whole lobster you want to make sure it’s still alive and feels heavy for its size.

· For safety, make sure its claws are restricted by elastic bands.

· Make sure the pot of water you're using to cook the lobster is large enough so that the lobster is fully covered in the water.

· You want a very sharp heavy-duty chef’s knife for dispatching and breaking down the lobster into its parts after cooking.

· The stomach sac of the lobster is located inside the shell just behind the head of the lobster.

· You can precook and process the lobster a day ahead. I recommend making the thermidor sauce just before grilling.

· If you don’t have a grill, bake in a 220°C/gas 7 preheated oven.