Pesto Lobster Thermador

Today is my sister Sheila Foley birthday. Whenever we visited, she always asked me to make my pesto pasta. Usually it was with either my five-thing salmon or my shrimp scampi.

Tonight I decided to honor her with something I never made before, lobster thermador.

With one pot and one skillet on the stove. I began. First I boiled two Florida lobster tails (thanks to my friend Jim Goetz) for 10 minutes. Meanwhile in a healthy amount of butter I sauteed some onions and red bell pepper. Then I added minced garlic and brought it up to ‘savory’ smell. To this I added the rough chopped lobster and about a cup of white wine.

While this reduced on a low heat, I cleaned out the pot, melted some butter, added some fine minced onion (shallots would be more traditional) and then a few tablespoons of flour. I cooked this into a rue, adding some olive oil when it got thick. To this I added about a cup of warm milk and stirred well. I season this with black pepper, cayenne and thyme. Then I added about a cup of shredded smoked Gouda. Gruyere would be traditional.

Once reduced, I added the lobster mix. I put the shells from the lobster in an oiled baking dish and filled them with the combined mixture. This was topped with more fine shredded Gouda and the broiled for about 2 minutes till browned.

I made my standard pesto, angel hair pasta with pesto, butter, garlic, black pepper, basil and parmigiana. This was plated and the broiled lobster placed on top. This was really just for effect and the photo. I scooped the contents onto the pasta for ease of eating.

It was incredible. I know you would have liked it sister. 💔