LOBSTER MORNAY RECIPES

Steps:

• In a medium saucepan, combine milk, onion, bay leaves and cloves. Heat on low until boiling point is reached (do not boil.) Remove from heat and set aside 5 minutes to infuse. Strain through a fine sieve into a jug.
• Meanwhile, melt butter in a medium saucepan on low. Add flour and cook, stirring for 1 minute. Remove from heat and gradually add strained milk, stirring until smooth.
• Return to medium heat. Cook, stirring, 3-4 minutes until mixture boils and thickens. Simmer 3 minutes.
• Remove from heat and stir parmesan and mustard through. Season to taste. Keep warm.
• Preheat grill to hot. Line an oven tray with foil.
• Clean lobsters, discarding intestinal thread and scooping out green-coloured mustard.
• Using your fingers, gently pull lobster meat away from the soft, flexible shell, snipping with scissors if required. Gently chop flesh into large chunks. Transfer to sauce. stirring to coat.
• Place shells on baking tray. Spoon lobster and sauce into shells. Sprinkle with combined breadcrumbs and extra parmesan. Grill 4-5 minutes, until lightly golden and bubbling. Sprinkle with chopped parsley and serve with lemon wedges.

Steps:

• Place lobsters in the freezer to render them insensible (30 minutes), then kill humanely. Meanwhile, bring a very large saucepan of salted water to the boil. Boil lobsters until half-cooked (4 minutes). Drain, then using a sharp knife and kitchen scissors, split lobsters in half. Remove meat from tails and legs (leave head and tail shell intact), coarsely chop tail meat and transfer to a bowl. Set shells and meat aside separately until required.
• Meanwhile, preheat oven to 220C. For mornay sauce, heat butter in a saucepan over medium-high heat until foaming (2-3 minutes), add flour and stir continuously until flour begins to turn sand-coloured (2-3 minutes). Gradually add milk, stirring well between each addition, until incorporated and sauce is smooth, then stir in cheese, season well to taste and stir in thyme (see note).
• Arrange lobster shells on a crumpled piece of foil in a roasting tray (this helps to keep them upright). Combine half the mornay sauce with the lobster meat and stir to combine, then spoon mixture into shells, spoon extra sauce over to cover well, then roast until mornay turns golden and bubbly (20-30 minutes). Season to taste and serve hot with lemon wedges and a leaf salad.