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pasta shells in a pale creamy cheese sauce with visible white and pink-red lobster pieces in an ordinary shallow bowl
Melissa Hart

Lobster Mac and Cheese

Lobster doesn't need a long second bake inside hot pasta. Small pieces cook directly in the warm sauce, and the cheese goes in once the meat is opaque and tender. I use Gruyere and fontina for a smooth sauce with enough flavor to support the lobster without hiding it. Keep the simmer gentle. A rolling boil can toughen the meat before you've finished stirring in the noodles.
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Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes
Servings: 6
Ingredients Method

Ingredients
  

  • 10 oz medium pasta shells
  • 1 tbsp fine salt for pasta water
  • 3 tbsp unsalted butter
  • 1 small shallot finely minced
  • 3 tbsp all-purpose flour
  • 2 1/2 cups whole milk
  • 12 oz raw lobster tail meat thawed and cut into 1-inch pieces
  • 1/2 tsp fine salt for sauce
  • 1/4 tsp white pepper
  • 4 oz Gruyere cheese finely grated
  • 4 oz fontina cheese grated
  • 1 tsp fresh lemon juice

Method
 

  1. Cook pasta shells in a large pot of water with the tablespoon salt until just tender. Reserve 1/2 cup pasta water, then drain.
  2. While the pasta cooks, melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Cook shallot for 3 minutes, stir in flour for 1 minute, then gradually whisk in milk.
  3. Add sauce salt and white pepper and simmer gently for 3 minutes. Add raw lobster pieces and cook at a gentle simmer for 4 to 6 minutes, stirring carefully, until opaque and 145°F in the largest pieces.
  4. Remove from the heat and fold in Gruyere and fontina until melted. Stir in lemon juice.
  5. Fold in the pasta shells, adding reserved pasta water a little at a time only if the sauce needs loosening. Serve immediately.