Lobster mac and cheese

5 from 1 vote

Decadent, delicious, for all palates - this lobster mac and cheese is the perfect dish for your Mother's Day celebrations.

Prep Time15

Cook Time1 31

Course: Main Course

Servings:

Author: Daen Lia

Ingredients

1 bulb garlic
1/2 cup olive oil
1 rosemary sprig
1 lobster lobster meat to weigh roughly 500g / 1lb
8 oz macaroni pasta
6 tbsp butter
2 tbsp white all purpose flour
1.5 cups milk
1/2 cup red or white cheddar grated +1/4 cup extra
1/2 cup gruyere grated
salt + pepper

Imperial (US) - Metric

Instructions

Preheat oven: Preheat oven to 130°C / 320°F
Peel garlic: Separate all the cloves from the garlic bulbs and place into a heatproof bowl. Cover with boiling water for 5 minutes then drain. The skins will become loose and easy to peel off.
Bake garlic: Place the garlic cloves, sprig of rosemary and a generous amount of salt into an ovenproof dish and cover with 1/2 cup olive oil, or more if needed. It’s important the garlic is fully submerged in olive oil so it does not burn. Roast for 1 hour or until the garlic is soft to touch and has a golden colour. There will be a slight bubble in the oil when it cooks. Separate the oil from the garlic cloves and set both to the side.
Prep lobster: Remove the lobster meat from the shell. Using shearing scissors, turn the tail over and cut down the middle. Peel the shell away and remove the meat. Cut the lobster meat into 4cm / 1 ½ inch long pieces or smaller if you prefer.
Cook pasta: Bring a pot of heavily salted water to the boil. Place the lobster shell into the pot of water along with the pasta. Follow the instructions on the back of the pasta packet for al dente pasta and drain your pasta 2 minutes before the suggested cooking time. Drain the pasta and lobster shell. Lay the pasta onto a cooling rack and discard of the lobster shell. Coat the pasta with a drizzle of olive oil to ensure it does not stick while you prepare the sauce.
Cook lobster meat: On a low heat in a 26cm dutch oven or oven proof dish, add the butter and drizzle with 1 tablespoon of the garlic infused olive oil. When the butter is melted and slightly foaming, add the lobster and poach it on a very low heat for 5 minutes until no longer glassy. The lobster meat should be tender and pink. Scoop out of the pan with a slotted spoon and set to the side.
Roux: Add the flour and garlic to the pan and whisk to form a roux. Stir constantly for 1 – 2 minutes. Add the milk to the roux, one third at a time and whisk until combined and lump free. Whisk the sauce for 5 minutes or until slightly thickened.
Add cheese: Take off the heat and stir through the cheese with a big pinch of salt and pepper. Season to taste. Add the pasta and lobster meat to the sauce and gently stir through.
Bake: Sprinkle the remaining cheese all over and bake for 15 minutes or until golden on top. Serve immediately.

Video

Notes

Whole lobster – using the entire lobster gives us the richest, most luxurious flavour. We use everything from the meat to the shell to season the pasta water. But… a whole lobster is expensive and sometimes hard to source so I am not going to tell you that you have to use a whole lobster. Lobster meat or even an alternative shellfish such as prawns / shrimps will still work beautifully. Try and source the freshest shellfish but don’t be afraid of using frozen. just make sure you de-frost it the night before.
Garlic confit – While I love to use my garlic confit as much as I can, this can be replaced with 2 cloves of raw garlic.
Cheese – I have used a mix of two cheeses, cheddar and Gruyere, but you can really use any cheese you like! A lovely Colby Jack, some grated parmesan or Velveeta would work well too. Just make sure you freshly grate your cheese and don’t buy pre-grated as it does make a difference!
Baking dish - My baking dish is 26cm in size.

Nutrition