Butter-Poached Lobster Mac with Gruyère & Tarragon Gratin

⏱ 75 min · Serves 4

Sweet, butter-poached lobster folded through silky Gruyère and Comté sauce, tangled in bronze-cut macaroni and finished with a crunchy panko-parmesan crust. It's the most decadent thing you can pull out of an oven — golden, bubbling, and worth every minute.

Per serving: 1085 kcal · 58.0g protein · 82.0g carbs · 58.0g fat

Ingredients

• 2 cooked lobsters (about 600g each), or 400g cooked lobster meat
• 120g unsalted butter
• 2 sprigs tarragon, leaves picked and chopped
• 350g macaroni or cavatappi
• 50g plain flour
• 600ml whole milk, warmed
• 100ml double cream
• 200g Gruyère, coarsely grated
• 80g Comté or mature cheddar, grated
• 40g Parmesan, finely grated
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
• 1 small shallot, finely diced
• 1 tbsp dry sherry or white wine
• 60g panko breadcrumbs
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• Zest of 1/2 lemon
• Sea salt and white pepper

Method

1. Pick the lobster meat from the shells, keeping the claws whole and cutting the tail into thick 2cm medallions. Chill until needed.
2. Melt 60g of the butter in a small pan with 2 tbsp water over low heat, whisking to a loose emulsion. Slip in the lobster meat with half the tarragon and poach very gently at around 60°C for 4–5 minutes, just until glossy and warmed through. Lift out and set aside; reserve the butter.
3. Bring a large pan of well-salted water to the boil and cook the pasta 2 minutes short of al dente. Drain, reserving a mugful of cooking water.
4. Melt the remaining 60g butter in a wide pan, soften the shallot for 3 minutes without colouring, then splash in the sherry and let it bubble away.
5. Stir in the flour and cook for 2 minutes to a pale roux. Gradually whisk in the warm milk, then the cream, and simmer for 5 minutes until it coats the back of a spoon.
6. Off the heat, whisk in the Gruyère, Comté, Dijon, cayenne and nutmeg until smooth. Season with salt and white pepper — go generously, cheese sauce needs it.
7. Fold in the drained pasta, loosening with a little pasta water if needy, then gently fold through the lobster medallions, the reserved poaching butter and the rest of the tarragon. Keep the claws back.
8. Tip into a buttered 2-litre gratin dish. Nestle the whole claws on top so they show.
9. Toss the panko with olive oil, Parmesan and lemon zest, then scatter over the top.
10. Bake at 200°C/180°C fan for 18–20 minutes until deeply golden and bubbling at the edges. Rest 5 minutes, then serve with a sharp green salad.