Lobster Gratin with Seafood Fumet

Before starting this Lobster Gratin with Seafood Fumet recipe, organise all the necessary ingredients.

Fill a large saucepan with 5 litres of water and bring to a boil. There should be enough to immerse the lobster completely.

Add the thyme sprigs, coarse salt, white wine, garlic cloves and crushed peppercorns.

Bring to a boil.

When the stock starts boiling, immerse the lobster. The lobster should be totally immersed.

Cooking time is 1 minute per 100 grams. Wait for the water to boil again and took for the appropriate length.

If your lobster weighs 500 grams, cook for 5 minutes.

When cooked, strain the lobster and transfer into a dish. Set aside.

For the sauce: Organise all the necessary ingredients.

Pour the veal stock in the saucepan...

... as well as the seafood fumet.

Place on high heat...

... and bring to a boil. Cook until reduced by half.

In the meantime, remove the head on the lobster.

Using seafood scissors, cut the lobster shell on the underside, starting from the tail.

Set aside the meat extracted from the tail. Crack the shell from the claws using shellfish pliers. Set aside.

When the stock has reduced by half...

... add the cold butter. The butter will bind the sauce. Set aside.

Cut the claw meat into small cubes.

Cut the tail into medallions (2 or 3 per person). Keep the best looking pieces for the decoration. With the scraps from the tail meat, cut into small cubes and mix with the claw meat.

Add the diced lobster meat to the sauce and combine well.

Using a mandolin slicer, slice the black truffle...

... to a thickness that doesn't exceed 4 or 5 mm.

Cut the truffle slices into strips, then cut into small cubes.

Add the truffle dices to the sauce...

... and combine gently. Set aside.

For the pasta: I used pasta shaped like long tubes (Candele) for this recipe. I also recommend pasta Zita 18.

Cook the pasta in salted boiling water. Wait for the water to start boiling before immersing the pasta. Cook between 6 and 8 minutes.

For the sabayon: Organise all the necessary ingredients.

Pour the veal stock in the saucepan...

... as well as the seafood fumet...

... and cook until reduced by half.

Add the butter...

... and give the pan rotating motions over the heat. The butter will incorporate slowly.

When the butter is completely incorporated...

... transfer a little bit in a separate recipient.

When the sauce is warm, add the egg yolks...

... and combine with a whisk...

... and continue whisking over medium heat...

... until the sabayon starts to thicken. Set aside.

When cooked, strain the pasta in a colander. Arrange the pasta tubes on a sheet of greaseproof paper, sticking them next to each other lengthwise.

I recommend serving this dish in a deep plate with well. Cut a disc of pasta with a stainless steel ring to the same diameter as the central well in the plate. Set aside.

Beat the whipping cream until you obtain a whipped cream. Reserve in the fridge.

In your serving plate...

... pour some lobster and truffle sauce at the bottom of the well...

... and spread evenly.

Using a greased spatula, lift the pasta disc...

... and arrange it in the plate over the lobster sauce.

Add the whipped cream to the warm sabayon.

Spread a couple of teaspoons of sabayon over the pasta...

... making sure it doesn't leak on the sides.

Using a small palette knife...

... spread the sabayon over the whole surface.

Place the dish under a grill or salamander until the surface is golden.

This should take only a few minutes. Remove from the grill.

Coat the lobster medallions with the rest of the lobster sauce.

Carefully handle the lobster medallions with the small palette knife...

... and arrange them over the pasta gratin.

Serve 2 or 3 lobster medallions per plate. Enjoy immediately!