Lobster Mac And Cheese
serves 4-6
You can buy uncooked lobster tails at the market and just remove the meat from the shell. Or, if you are buying a whole lobster, I've found it easier to steam or boil it for 1 minute exactly, drain and then remove the meat.Read more about this recipe at Steamy Kitchen.
Pasta
1/2 cup butter + more to grease ramekins
1/2 cup flour
2 cups half and half
3 cups sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
2 cups gruyere cheese, shredded
2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cayenne
pinch of ground black pepper
1 lb dried elbow pasta
Lobster
1/3 cup panko breadcrumbs
1 lb uncooked lobster meat, chopped (see notes)
3 tbs grated parmesan
prep: 10 minutes
total: 1 hour 20 minutes
large pot
medium saucepan
8 ramekins (or large baking dish)
medium skillet
1. Preheat oven to 350F. Boil pasta in a large pot of salted water until 1 minute shy of done. Drain well.
2. As soon as the pasta goes in the water, put a medium saucepan on medium-low heat and melt butter. Add flour a little at a time, whisking constantly for 3 minutes to make a roux. Add half and half, a little at time, whisking to combine. Cook 3 minutes until sauce has thickened. Turn off heat.
3. Add cheddar and gruyere, salt, nutmeg, cayenne and pepper. Stir until cheese is melted. Taste and adjust seasonings. Add cooked pasta to pan, stir to combine.
4. Butter 8 small ramekins or a large baking dish. Spoon pasta/cheese mixture into dish, up to 2/3 full. Bake in oven for 30 minutes.
5. While pasta is baking, melt 2 tbs butter in a medium skillet over medium heat. Once butter melts, turn off heat and add lobster meat, parmesan and panko bread crumbs. Toss to combine.
6. When pasta is done baking, remove from oven. Top pasta with a spoonful of lobster mixture. Set your oven rack to top 1/3 of oven, turn to broil and return ramekins to oven for 6-8 minutes. Lobster should be cooked through and a nice cheeesy crunchy crust will form.
