The first dinner I cooked for my girlfriend for her first birthday with us together. I wanted it to be special. I was clueless then, but somehow it came together. This new recipe recreates the lobster, heart-shaped mash, roasted baby potatoes and salad in the photographs.
New cookbook version · Serves 2
Written to complete the family collection. This is a new version, not a recovered record of the original cook.
Ingredients
- 2 raw lobster tails, 180–250 g each
- 20 g butter, softened
- Salt and black pepper
- 1 small shallot, finely diced
- 1 garlic clove, crushed
- 60 ml dry white wine
- 100 ml cream
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- 1–2 tsp lemon juice
- 1 tbsp chopped chives
- 400 g floury potatoes, peeled and cubed
- 30 g butter and 60–80 ml warm milk, for the mash
- 300 g baby potatoes
- 1 tbsp olive oil and 1 tsp chopped rosemary
- 2 handfuls rocket
- 150 g cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1 tbsp olive oil, 2 tsp lemon juice and ½ tsp honey, for the salad
Method
- Heat the oven to 200°C fan-forced. Parboil the baby potatoes for 8 minutes, drain, toss with oil, rosemary and salt, then roast for 30–35 minutes until tender and golden.
- Boil the peeled potatoes in salted water for 15–20 minutes. Drain well, steam dry and mash with the butter and warm milk. Season and keep warm.
- Cut down the top of each lobster shell with kitchen scissors. Loosen the meat and lift it onto the shell, leaving it attached at the tail. Spread with half the softened butter and season.
- Roast the lobster on a tray for approximately 10–15 minutes, depending on size, until the thickest meat reaches 63°C and is opaque. Avoid overcooking.
- Meanwhile, soften the shallot in the remaining butter for 3 minutes. Add garlic for 30 seconds, then wine. Reduce by half, add cream and Dijon and simmer gently for 3–4 minutes. Finish with lemon and chives.
- Toss the rocket and tomatoes with the salad dressing just before serving. Shape the mash into a heart if you like. Plate with the lobster and baby potatoes, spoon over the sauce and serve immediately.
Kitchen notes
The sauce is a newly written interpretation of the photograph, not a claim about the exact sauce used that evening.
From preparation to the table
Original photographs from our family cooking. Where the recipe is labelled as a new version, these earlier photographs record the meal and may show variations rather than every exact ingredient or step above.
