Lobster Thermidor

Lobster Thermidor

Lobster in a luxurious creamy sauce - a classic and one of my all time favourites.

Overview:

A. Make the stock.

B. Make the sauce.

C. Grill the lobster meat in the sauce with Parmesan sprinkled on top.

A. Make the stock:

Ingredients for the stock: (For 6 portions)

4 live lobsters

500mls of the water in which the lobsters were boiled

200mls white wine

1 medium onion – cut into 4 pieces

1 stick celery cut into 2 inch pieces

1 bouquet garni (1 bay leaf, 1 sprig thyme, 1 sprig parsley, 1 celery flower)

5 black peppercorns

Method for the stock:

Bring a very large pot of water to the boil (enough to cover the lobsters).

Add the live lobsters and boil for no more than 15 minutes. (Or get your fishmonger to do this for you).

Remove the lobsters from the water.

Boil 500 mls of the water with all the other stock ingredients, then simmer over a low to medium heat for about 30 minutes.

Strain the stock.

When the lobsters have cooled down remove the meat and keep it aside.

Wash and clean out the lobster shells if you want to serve the lobster in them.

B. Make the sauce:

Ingredients for the sauce:

60g butter

60g flour

2 cloves garlic (crushed finely)

600mls fresh lobster stock

200mls fresh double cream

½ teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 teaspoon mustard

½ - ¾  teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon black pepper (coarsely ground)

2 teaspoons pink coral (roe from the lobster – this is optional)

2 yolks

2 tablespoons grated Parmesan

1½  tablespoons brandy

Method for sauce:

1. Melt the butter in a large saucepan.

2. Add the crushed garlic.

3. Add the flour and cook for 2 minutes over a low heat.

4. Slowly add the stock, stirring well to prevent lumps forming.

5. After adding all the stock bring it to a boil for about 10 seconds.

6. Turn the heat down to low.

7. Add the cream.

8. Stir in the pink coral (roe), mustard, cayenne pepper, salt and black pepper.

9. Take the sauce off the heat.

10. Mix in the yolks. 

C. Putting it all together:

1. Pre-heat the grill.

2. Chop the lobster meat into ¾ inch pieces.

3. Sauté the lobster in 1 tablespoon of butter for about 1 minute.

4. Add 1 tablespoon of brandy and cook for another minute.

5. Add the lobster to the sauce.

6. Put it back into cleaned lobster shells.

7. Sprinkle Parmesan on top and place under a grill until golden brown (about 1 minute).

8. Serve immediately and enjoy!

Additional Information:

4 large lobsters should be enough for 6 people.  (I think restaurants allow only half a lobster per person).

If you have a good local fishmonger who can boil the lobsters, take the meat out for you and also give you the water in which it was boiled, then a lot of the unpleasant work is done (i.e. killing the lobster, removing it from the shell and half of the work in the making of the stock)! Also, many fishmongers don’t charge to deliver locally.

Unfortunately one doesn’t see lobster thermidor on menus very often these days

- it was apparently created in a restaurant in Paris in 1894 to honour the opening of a play called ‘Thermidor’. And the play, which is set during the French Revolution, was named for the eleventh month (Thermidor) of the French Republican Calendar.