12 frozen lobster tails
1 small slice onion
1 small carrot, cut up
1 stalk celery (with leaves), cut up
2 sprigs parsley
small piece bay leaf
2 tsp salt
4 peppercorns
3/4 cup butter
6 tbsp flour
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp dried leaf tarragon
dash cayenne
3 cups light cream
3 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup fine dry bread crumbs
2 tbsp melted butter |
Method :
Put frozen
lobster tails in large kettle. Add onion slice, carrot, celery, parsley,
bay leaf, 2 tsp salt and peppercorns. Add enough boiling water to
completely cover the tails. Bring to a boil, turn down heat, cover and
boil until tender. (Time varies with size of lobster tails. General rule
is to cook them 1 minute per oz (30g) plus 2 minutes when frozen, or 1
minute per oz (30g) plus 1 minute if thawed first). Drain and rinse
quickly under cold running water. Clip away the undershells with kitchen
shears and pull the meat free from the shells with the fingers (do not
discard shells - you will need them later). Chill lobster meat. Dice
lobster meat.
Heat 3/4 cup
(180ml) butter in large heavy skillet. Add pieces of lobster and cook
gently 3 minutes, stirring. Sprinkle in flour, 1 1/2 tsp (7 ml) salt,
paprika, tarragon and cayenne and stir to blend. Remove from heat and
add cream all at once. Stir to blend well then return to moderate heat.
Cook until boiling, thickened and smooth, stirring constantly. Stir in
lemon juice. Remove from heat immediately. Put shells in a shallow
baking pan that will just hold them in a single layer (if you fir them
in rather snugly they will support each other and won't tip over when
you are filling them). Spoon the lobster mixture into the shells piling
it up as high as possible. Cover pan with transparent wrap and
refrigerate until shortly before serving time. Heat oven to 350F (175C)
soon enough to allow 30 minutes for heating lobster. Combine cheese,
bread crumbs and melted butter. Sprinkle mixture generously over tops of
lobster tails. Heat about 30 minutes or until mixture in shells is
bubbling and crumb mixture is brown. Serve immediately.
Note : If you
want to complete the cooking when the tails are filled rather than
refrigerating them, heat oven to 450F (230C). Sprinkle the hot filling
with the crumb mixture and heat about 12 minutes or until crumb mixture
is golden.
Serves 6
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