Ed Baines’ lobster thermidor recipe: How to cook the classic like Randall & Aubin’s head chef

Push the boat out and reel in this sumptous seafood dish for Christmas Day
Ed Baines, head chef at Randall & Aubin, which celebrated its 25th anniversary earlier this year
Handout
Ed Baines22 December 2021

“But, it’s Christmas.” So goes the bulletproof excuse for over-indulgence at this time of year. In 2021, however, you can bolster it: “But, it’s Christmas and it’s a pandemic.”

With everything else going on this winter, turning the festivities up to 11 on December 25 is a necessity as much as it is an indulgence, and splashing out on a grand centrepiece for your dinner table is the perfect way to do that.

If you’re still considering what exactly to serve on the big day, this recipe from Ed Baines — head chef at much-loved Soho seafood restaurant Randall & Aubin — would work perfectly. Lobster is hardly an everyday ingredient, and as such can inspire a fair bit of trepidation in for the home cook, but Baines’ recipe for this classic dish shows that, all things considered, it’s actually surprisingly simple. Go on. Stuff the turkey; here’s something special in a year when goodness knows we need it. Feliz Navidad.

Ingredients:

  • 300ml milk
  • 2 bays leaves
  • ½ small onion
  • 6 black peppercorns
  • 2 cooked lobsters (750g combined weight). NB, cooked lobsters are readily available online, but supermarkets including Sainsbury’s and Waitrose.
  • 1 ground clove of garlic
  • 45g butter
  • 20g plain flour
  • 50g shallots, finely chopped
  • 120ml dry white wine
  • 50ml brandy
  • 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
  • 1 tsp chopped tarragon
  • 1 tbsp chopped parsley
  • 2 tbsp double cream (optional)
  • Pinch of cayenne pepper
  • 40g Comte cheese, finely grated

Method:

  1. Put the milk, bay leaves, onion and peppercorns in a small pan. Bring to the boil, then set aside for 10 minutes for the flavours to infuse.
  2. Meanwhile cut the lobsters in half and crack the claws, reserving the half-shells to refill with the dressed meat. Remove the meat and cut it into chunky pieces.
  3. Put the cleaned out half-shells on a baking tray lined with foil. Preheat the oven to 190 degrees.
  4. For the sauce, heat the milk gently. Melt 45g of the butter in another pan, stir in the chopped shallots and the ground garlic and the flour and cook for a few seconds. Now add the wine and brandy, then strain in a little of the hot milk and whisk until smooth. Gradually whisk in the rest of the milk and then bring to the boil. Lower the heat and simmer for four minutes, stirring now and then.
  5. You should be left with 350ml of white wine sauce with the consistency of thick cream.
  6. Finely, off the heat add the mustard, tarragon, chives, cream, cayenne pepper and 25g of the grated cheese.
  7. Season to taste with salt and white pepper. Allow to cool.
  8. In a large bowl add the cut lobster meat and pour over the sauce, mix well and then divide the mixture equally between the cleaned half shells.
  9. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese, place in the oven and bake for four to five minutes until golden and bubbling. Serve with boiled new potatoes and a green salad.

Randall & Aubin celebrates its 25th anniversary in 2021. For more information and reservations, visit randallandaubin.com or call 0207 478 0504

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