Tag Archives: aged white cheddar

Lobster-Crab Shells and Cheese

2 4oz lobster tails
4oz fontina cheese
4oz gruyere
4-6oz aged white cheddar
1/2 cup of heavy cream
1/4 cup of milk
16oz medium pasta shells
2-4oz butter
2-4 tablespoons flour
6oz white crab meat (usually shredded but chunk okay)
1 tablespoons of fresh or dried basil (optional)
garlic powder
pepper (white pepper optimal)

Cut lobster tails in half and let marinade in melted butter for 10-20 minutes. Fire up the grill and heat until flames burn down, and coals are grey and hot. Place tails meat side down and grill for 2-3 minutes. Turn over tails, drizzle any remaining butter into the meat, and grill for another 2-3 minutes. Lobster tails should be a nice opaque white/pink to indicate doneness.

Boil pasta shells until al dente, about 9-10 minutes, drain. Prepare the butter-flour roux in a sauce pan, mixing over medium heat, keeping the roux at a pale, creamy color. Add the cream until heated through. Meanwhile, chop into cubes or shred all cheeses (easier to shred if cheese is hardened). Stir in cheese slowly in batches, making sure that each batch is melted and incorporated thoroughly before adding the next batch. Add milk to thin the cheese sauce if necessary. Reduce heat to medium-low, continue to stir so that cheese sauce doesn’t burn. Season with garlic powder and pepper to taste.

Transfer pasta to bowl. Pour cheese sauce over pasta. Mix crab meat into pasta, fold until shells are coated with sauce and crab meat.

Remove lobster from tails and chop into chunks, then use as a topping on the pasta. Sprinkle chopped basil leaves for color and flavoring over the pasta.