To help celebrate Nova Scotia Lobster Crawl, I reached out to my good friend Vicki for a lobster recipe. Needless to say, she came through with this delicious Lobster Mac & Cheese, a true East Coast comfort food.

Lobster is an important part of my maritime roots.  I’m used to summertime feeds of steamed lobster at the cottage, and the famous “lobster roll.”   But sometimes, in the winter, you just need a delicious, warm comfort food.  This Lobster Mac & Cheese dish will not disappoint!!   

You can use a pasta of your choice but it should be a small pasta that will hold sauce, like elbow, shells, or cavetappi. For the cheese, feel free to get creative.  I had no Gruyere, but I got good quality sharp cheddar and mixed both white and orange, and added in a bit of Swiss that I had in the refrigerator.   Use whatever suits your taste.  Good quality cheese is the key to good taste, so I prefer aged cheddar, and I grate it myself rather than buying the already grated stuff.  Especially if it is going to be paired with lobster! 

Lobster Mac & Cheese

Vicki MacDonald

The Ultimate East Coast Comfort Food

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Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 30 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr

Course Main Course

Ingredients

  

Mac & Cheese

• vegetable oil
• 450 gram small shells, cavetappi or pasta of your choice
• 1 litre whole milk
• 8 tbsp (1 stick) butter for the sauce
• ½ cup all purpose flour a generous ½ cup
• 4 cups Gruyere cheese grated
• 2 cups Extra Sharp Cheddar Cheese grated
• ½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tbsp salt
• ½ tsp ground nutmeg
• 1 ½ lbs pre cooked lobster meat, cut into chunks

Topping

• 3-4 tbsp melted butter
• 1 cup flavoured croutons ground into crumbs in food processor
• ½ cup Panko crumbs seasoned with a pinch of garlic salt & onion salt

Instructions

 

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. 
• Heat milk in a small saucepan, but don’t boil it. It should be hot when you add it to the sauce mixture. 
• In a separate sauce pot, over low heat, melt 8 tbsp. Butter. Add the flour, and cook over low heat for two minutes, stirring with a whisk.  Still whisking, add the hot milk and cook for a couple minutes more, until thickened and smooth.  Add the shredded cheeses, tbsp. of salt, the pepper and nutmeg.  Stir, taste, and add more seasoning to taste.  Set sauce aside but keep it warm.
• In a large pot of salted, boiling water, add a splash of oil, and then cook pasta according to directions for al dente.   Drain well.  Add pasta back to large cooking pot, and stir in lobster and most of the cheese sauce.  I keep a bit, as sometimes the pasta will get dry when you bake it, so I like to reserve a little to add as I’m eating. 
• Portion the pasta into individual gratin dishes or larger casserole.
• Melt remaining 3-4 tbsp. butter and combine them with croutons crumbs and Panko crumbs.   Sprinkle on top, and bake 30 minutes or until sauce is bubbly and crumbs are golden.  Serve immediately for moist pasta.  

Keyword Pasta, Seafood

I find Mac and Cheese can dry out in the oven, so I only bake it as long as is needed to heat through and make the crumbs golden.  And be sure to serve immediately for best results.  You can also serve this leftover, but I found reserving cheese sauce or making extra was key to keeping the pasta moist for leftovers.  

Do you have a family favourite lobster recipe? What is your East Coast comfort food?