Lobster Thermidor | Chef Pierre Gignac | Quick Recipe

👆Level up your dinner tonight with this 🦞Lobster Thermidor🦞!

It’s a classic for a reason but Chef Pierre Gignac is here to kick it up a notch with a twist; ditching the traditional bechamel for this lovely 🦞lobster🦞 sauce! 😋

✅Ingredients:
2 lobsters, 1 1/4 lbs each
1 lb of lobster bodies (ask ahead at the fish market)
2 tbsp cooking oil
1 small onion, finely diced
1 carrot, finely diced
3 garlic cloves, peeled
3 sprigs of tarragon
1 tbsp tomato paste
1 cup of dry white wine
¼ cup brandy
2 cups heavy cream
1 tsp English dry mustard
1 tsp cream Sherry
Splash of lemon juice
Pinch of Cayenne pepper
2 artichoke hearts, cut into small wedges
¼ cup thinly sliced oyster mushroom
¼ cup grated Reggiano Parmesan
Sea salt, smoked Spanish paprika

✅Method of Preparation:
In a medium size heavy sauce pan, heat the oil over medium heat. Then, add onions, carrots, garlic and tarragon.

Sauté for 5 minutes until the vegetables softened, add lobster bodies, turn heat to high and sauté for 5 more minutes.

Stir in tomato paste. De-glaze with wine, cook down by half, de-glaze with brandy, and ignite with lighter – being very careful – until the alcohol burns out.

Add cream, turn the heat to low and simmer gently for about 30-40 minutes.

Stir in mustard, Sherry, lemon, a pinch of pepper and salt, then strain through a heavy sieve, mashing the lobster shell to extract all the flavors.

Taste for seasoning and keep aside warm.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add a handful of salt so the water tastes like sea water.

Plunge the lobsters into the water for 5 minutes. Remove the lobsters and plunge into an ice bath to stop the cooking. Leave to cool for 10 minutes.

Remove knuckles and claws and pick their meat.

Cut the lobster in half, starting at the head and working towards the tail. Remove the stomach and vein from the half tails.

Preheat the oven to 450F, preferably convection.

Put the claw meat into the lobster cavities, lay artichoke wedges and mushroom slices over, then pour a generous amount of sauce over the meat, and finely sprinkle with Parmesan.

Place the lobsters on a baking tray and put in the oven for about 8-10 minutes or until golden brown.

Place lobsters on serving plates, ladle remaining sauce around, sprinkle with paprika, garnish with fresh tarragon leaves and your favorite garden herbs.