The collection

For better tasting food and your own peace of mind use sustainably and locally produced ingredients Eggs should always be free-range (1 teaspoon is 5ml; 1 tablespoon is 15ml)

Grilled lobster with basil oil and aioli

(Serves 4)

2 approx. 500g lobsters 60ml extra virgin olive oil 1 garlic clove (grated)

2 small lemons (halved) Greek basil leaves

(to serve)

For the basil oil

50g Greek basil leaves 200ml sunflower oil 60ml extra virgin olive oil (plus extra if needed)

For the basil aioli

1 garlic clove

(finely grated)

1tsp Dijon mustard 2tsp lemon juice 2 egg yolks 200ml basil oil (see above) First make the basil oil. Put the basil leaves in a bowl, cover with boiling water and leave for 40 seconds until the green of the leaves intensifies. Drain and refresh under cold running water. Drain well and pat dry with kitchen paper. Chop finely, put in a blender with both the oils and whizz to a puree. Scrape into a bowl, cover and chill overnight.

Line a sieve with a layer of muslin and set it over a bowl. Pour in the basil oil and let it gradually drain through without disturbing it. Discard the solids in the sieve, pour the oil into a jar and store in the fridge until ready to use.

Spoon 3tbsp basil oil into a bowl for serving. To make the basil aioli you need 200ml basil oil – if you don’t have enough, add a little more extra virgin olive oil to the mixture you have made. Put the garlic, mustard and

1tsp lemon juice in a bowl placed on a cloth so it doesn’t slip. Season with sea salt flakes and white pepper.

Whisk in the egg yolks and add the basil oil a drop at a time, whisking continuously, until the mixture thickens and emulsifies. At this point, start adding the oil a little faster.

Taste and add more lemon juice and salt if needed. Put in a bowl and store in the fridge.

To kill the lobsters, put them in the freezer for an hour. Bring a pan of water to the boil, large enough to hold one lobster at a time and plenty of water to cover. For every litre of water, add 1tbsp sea salt flakes once the water is boiling.

Remove one lobster from the freezer. Take a sharp, pointed cook’s knife and turn the lobster onto its back on a chopping board (keep the elastic bands around the claws). Insert the point of the knife just below where the claws meet and quickly cut down through the head. Place in the pan and bring the water quickly back to the boil. As soon as the lobster turns red, remove, using tongs, to a sink full of very cold water (you may need to change the water at least once). Repeat with the other lobster. When cool enough to handle, twist off the claws and return them to the pan of boiling water for three minutes.

Cut each lobster in half from head to tail. Remove the stomach sac from behind the eyes, the intestinal canal and the gills. Remove the claws from the pan and plunge into cold water. Crack the claws, remove the meat and add to the head cavity.

Heat the grill and place the shelf 15cm from the heat source. Mix the oil and garlic together. Place the lobsters on a foil-lined tray with the lemons, brush with the oil mix and grill for around three minutes. Serve with the grilled lemons, basil oil, aioli and Greek basil leaves.

Lobster Thermidor

(Serves 2)

1 approx. 500g lobster 100ml full-fat goat milk 50ml double cream

100ml shellfish stock or fish stock 1tbsp extra virgin olive oil 15g salted butter 1 finely chopped shallot 1 grated garlic clove 1tbsp plain flour

50g Gruyère cheese (grated) 1tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley (plus small leaves to garnish) sumac or unsmoked paprika (for dusting) french fries (to serve, optional)

To kill the lobster, put it in the freezer for an hour. Bring a pan of water to the boil, large enough for the lobster and plenty of water to cover. For every litre of water add 1tbsp sea salt flakes once the water is boiling. Remove the lobster from the freezer. Take a sharp, pointed cook’s knife, turn the lobster onto its back on a chopping board (keep the elastic bands around the claws). Insert the point of the knife just below where the claws meet and quickly cut down through the head. Place in the pan, bring quickly back to the boil and cook for four minutes.

Using tongs, lift the lobster out into a sink full of very cold water (you may need to change the water at least once). Leave the head in place and crack off the claws. Cut the body of the lobster in half lengthways. Remove the stomach sac from behind the eyes, the intestinal canal and the gills. Carefully remove the meat from the body, reserving the shells. Crack the claws with the back of a cook’s knife and remove the meat.

Heat the milk, cream and stock together. Heat the oil and butter and add the shallot. Gently sweat over a low heat for five minutes, then add the garlic. Cook for a further minute and add the flour. Stir well then start to add the hot liquid mixture gradually so it comes together to make a light, smooth béchamel sauce. Stir in around 20g of the Gruyère.

Preheat the grill. Cut the lobster meat into cubes, loosely fold into the béchamel, then add the chopped parsley and pile into the shells. Top with the rest of the Gruyère and place under the grill until just pale golden. Scatter with the parsley leaves and dust with sumac or unsmoked paprika. Serve with french fries, if you wish.

Lobster bisque

(Serves 4) 2 approx. 500g lobsters 3tbsp extra virgin olive oil 1 finely chopped onion 250g finely chopped carrots 4 finely chopped celery sticks 3 finely chopped garlic cloves 1 finely chopped fennel bulb 4 sprigs thyme small pinch saffron threads ½tsp paprika ½tsp cayenne 2tbsp tomato puree 4tbsp dry sherry 3 ripe tomatoes 200ml white wine 750ml lobster cooking water (or shellfish or fish stock)

25g butter

2tbsp double cream finely snipped chives (to serve) very thinly sliced sourdough (toasted, to serve) To kill the lobster, put it in the freezer for an hour. Bring a pan of water, big enough to hold both lobsters and water to cover, to the boil and add 1tbsp sea salt flakes for each litre of water. Add the lobsters and boil for six minutes until the black shells turn bright red. Turn off the heat and, using tongs, remove the lobsters and plunge them into a sink full of very cold water. Reserve 750ml of the cooking liquid to make the bisque.

When cool enough to handle, place one lobster at a time on a chopping board. Twist off the head and the large claws. Remove and discard the feathery soft, claw-like bits (known as dead man’s fingers) from the head. Put the head and claws in a dish in the fridge until ready to eat. Turn the tail upside down and snip through the small claws on either side of the tail shell with kitchen scissors. Carefully remove the tail meat in one piece.

When you are ready to make the bisque, remove as much meat as you can from the head and discard the grey-greenish fatty substance (called tomalley, it is the liver and pancreas of the lobster and can store a cocktail of toxic chemicals). The roe is the longer darker strip that is fine to eat – so add this to the stock after shelling the lobsters.

Crack the larger part of the claws with the back of a heavy cook’s knife or mallet and remove the meat. Break up the shells and head into small pieces and set aside for the bisque.

Heat the oil in a large frying pan and add the onion, carrots, celery, garlic, fennel, thyme and saffron. Fry for around seven minutes, then add the paprika, cayenne and 1tsp freshly ground black pepper. Add the reserved shells and fry for three minutes. Stir in the tomato puree, sherry, tomatoes, white wine and the stock. Partly cover the pan, bring to a simmer, then tip it all into the pan with the reserved lobster cooking water.

Cut the lobster meat into neat pieces, reserving four of the nicest shaped pieces to garnish. Put the remainder into the pan containing the shells, vegetables and stock. Simmer for 45 minutes. Process the bisque in a blender to break up the pieces of shell and the vegetables. Pass everything through a fine sieve into a clean pan, leaving it to drain through for a few minutes.

Divide among warmed bowls. Heat the butter, add the reserved lobster meat pieces and toss until warmed through. Add one piece lobster tail to each serving. Mix the double cream with 3tbsp bisque to make it pale pink and spoon it around the lobster tail. Scatter with chives and serve with the toasted sourdough.

Lobster cocktail with Marie Rose sauce and avocado balls

(Serves 4) 2 approx. 500g lobsters (cooked)

2 Baby Gem lettuces (leaves separated and soaked in cold salted water) 4-6 avocados 2tsp lemon juice 1 cantaloupe melon 4 lime slices

For the Marie Rose sauce

7tbsp Greek yoghurt 8tbsp good quality mayonnaise 1tsp Calvados 5 drops Tabasco juice of half a lime 2tsp tomato puree Mix the Marie Rose sauce ingredients together except for the tomato puree. Remove 4tbsp mixture and place in the bowl of a mini-processor. Add the tomato puree to the remainder. Transfer to a cool place until ready to assemble, which can be done a few hours ahead (keep chilled until 30 minutes before serving).

Remove the tails from the lobsters. Using the back of a heavy cook’s knife, break the claws and loosen the meat, which will easily come out.

Trim the tails and cut into eight pieces to garnish the cocktail. Cut the rest of the lobster into bite-size pieces.

Fold into the Marie Rose sauce.

Drain and spin the lettuce leaves so they are no longer wet, reserve eight for serving and shred the remainder. Cut the avocados in half and remove the stones. Using a 2cm melon baller, scoop out 28 balls of flesh and carefully mix with the lemon juice to prevent discoloration.

Cut the avocado into slightly smaller cubes if wished. Scoop out the remaining flesh from the halves, add to the mixture in the mini-processor and whizz together to a smooth puree.

Using the melon baller, scoop out 12 balls of melon. Set aside.

To assemble the cocktails, put one-eighth of the avocado puree into the base of each bowl or glass then layer with lobster, shredded lettuce and Marie Rose sauce, adding a few balls of melon and avocado. Top each serving with two pieces tail meat and push two whole lettuce leaves down the side of each glass. Garnish with a lime slice and serve.

NOTE This supplement is reproduced from Food and Travel Magazine, which is published by Green Pea Publishing, London. All rights of the published material belong to Green Pea Publishing and may not be reproduced, whether in whole or part, without its prior written consent.