Stuffed Lobster with garlic, basil and lemon
An impressive and delicious way to prepare lobster at home.
Ingredients
Crispy breadcrumb topping
- 6 Tbsp panko breadcrumbs
- 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1/8 tsp smoked paprika (optional)
Stuffed lobster
- cooked tail, claw, and knuckle meat from 2 lobsters (1.25# each) see the link above for how to cook lobsters and clean half-shells
- 2 clean lobster half-shells (see note below for portion sizes)
- 4 Tbsp mayonnaise (home-made or store-bought)
- 1 large clove garlic, grated on a microplane or finely minced
- 1/4 cup chiffonade basil
- 3 Tbsp thinly sliced scallions
- 1 tsp finely chopped calabrian chili (optional)
- zest of half a lemon (zest the lemon with a microplane or fine grater)
- lemon juice, salt, and black pepper (to taste)
- crispy breadcrumb topping
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375F
Crispy Breadcrumb topping
- In a small bowl, combine panko, olive oil, salt and paprika. Mix well and spread out on a baking sheet. Bake for about 15 minutes, or until the panko is golden brown and toasty. Allow breadcrumbs to cool for 10 minutes before using.
Stuffed lobster
- Take about 1/4 of the lobster meat and roughly chop it, use the smaller bits of the lobster for this. Cut the rest of the lobster into 1/2 inch chunks.
- In a mixing bowl, combine the lobster with the rest of the ingredients and 1/2 of the crispy breadcrumb mix. Season with salt, black pepper and a little bit of lemon juice. The lobster is cooked so feel free to taste this mix.
- On a sheet tray, crumple up some foil to create a "bed" for the lobster shells to sit on.
- Place the lobster shells on the foil so they lay flat and are secure.
- Stuff the shells with the lobster mix.
- Sprinkle the remaining crispy breadcrumbs on top of the lobster.
- Roast the lobsters in the 375F oven for about 20 minutes, or until a skewer or paring knife inserted into the middle of the lobster comes out medium-hot. If desired, turn on the broiler for a few minutes at the end of the cooking time to get the breadcrumbs extra crispy.
- Serve with lemon wedges
Notes
This recipe is for 2 generous appetizers (2 stuffed half-shells). Each stuffed half-shell contains the meat from 1 whole lobster. If you would like to make 3 or 4 smaller appetizers, use 3 or 4 half shells and divide the lobster mix evenly between them. Since each half-shell will contain less lobster meat, they will cook a bit faster. Check the lobsters after 15 minutes.