Lobster Macaroni and Cheese

Submitted by Little Suzy Homemak

"This is from Bon Appetit. Haven't tried it but want to as soon as possible!"

 

• Ready In: 1hr
• Ingredients: 18
• Serves: 6

ingredients

• 1 (1 3/4-2 lb) live lobsters
• 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 12 large shrimp, peeled, deveined, shells reserved
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 3⁄4 cup chopped peeled carrot
• 3⁄4 cup chopped celery
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled, flattened
• 1 turkish bay leaf
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 1⁄4 cup cognac or 1/4 cup brandy
• 3 cups water
• 4 tablespoons butter, divided
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 cup whipping cream
• 1 1⁄2 cups grated Fontina cheese (about 6 ounces)
• 8 ounces pasta shells or 8 ounces gemelli pasta
• 6 ounces fresh crabmeat, picked over
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives

directions

1. Plunge lobster headfirst into pot of boiling water; boil 4 minutes. Using tongs, transfer to cutting board. Cut off tail and claws. Crack tail and claws and remove meat. Cut meat into 1/2-inch pieces. Cut body and shells into 2-inch pieces. Chill meat; reserve shells.
2. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add lobster body, lobster shells, and shrimp shells to skillet and sauté 4 minutes. Add onion and next 4 ingredients; sauté 6 minutes. Add tomato paste; stir 1 minute. Remove from heat; stir in Cognac. Add 3 cups water; bring to boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer 30 minutes.
3. Strain mixture into bowl, pressing on solids to extract liquid; discard solids. Set stock aside. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in same skillet over medium-high heat. Add shrimp; sauté until just opaque in center, about 3 minutes. Cool slightly. Coarsely chop shrimp.
4. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in large saucepan over medium heat. Add flour; stir 1 minute. Add stock and cream; simmer until sauce is reduced to 2 cups, about 5 minutes. Add cheese; stir until smooth. Season with salt and pepper. Remove from heat.
5. Meanwhile, cook pasta in large pot of boiling salted water until just tender but still firm to bite. Drain. Stir lobster, shrimp, pasta, crab, and 2 tablespoons butter into sauce. Stir over medium-low heat until heated through, about 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Serve topped with chives.
6. Bon Appétit, September 2004.

Reviews

[Ciocia DD]

Originally rated on 9/25/09. Four stars instead of five because it was posted without testing. Recipe was a very nice starting point. The cheese was not nearly enough. I added almost three tablespoons of flour and boiled for a couple of minutes to activate the thickening properties of the flour. Then I added the stock and cream. I reduced the stock/cream mixture until I had just under 2 cups of liquid. I added all the cheese called for and the mixture was thin and runny. By this time the 3 tablespoons of flour had already done all the could for thickening. I shredded the remaining 2 oz. of Fontina cheese from my brick and added that. Still thin but not quite as runny. Fortunately I had a container of shredded Gruyere in the fridge. I added about 4 oz. of that before the sauce came together and resembled a cheese sauce. Used a total of 12 oz. of cheese. This works very nicely with gemelli so the small pieces of crab can get evenly distributed and caught in the twists. With shells I think some pieces may end up with crab inside and some pieces would be without. I'll be making this again but with 3 tablespoons of flour and 12 oz. of cheese. UPDATED 6/26/09 Made this again today. The last time my grocery store had live lobsters on sale for $5.99/lb I ordered four of them and had them steamed there. I brought them home and shelled them. The meat went into a zip top bag and the shells into another bag then into the freezer. Today I took out the meat to defrost (in the bag) in a bowl of cold water while I started cooking. Tossed the lobster shells in the pan with the other stock making ingredients and cooked from there. I found this to be a tremendous time-saver. The first time I made this it was a long very time-consuming process from beginning to end. Doing the lobster ahead of time will be something I continue.

 

[snaggletooth377]

Is very good