Lobster Thermidor Burger

Lobster Thermidor Burger

Classic lobster thermidor is reimagined as a luxurious burger with a lobster-shrimp patty, two cheeses and a divine brown butter-tarragon mayo. Made from 18 herbs and spices, Old Bay is a famous seasoning blend from Maryland that really makes shellfish sing.

Ingredients:

1/2 lb (225 g) shrimp, peeled, deveined
1/2 cup (125 mL) panko breadcrumbs
2 tbsp (30 mL) finely chopped chives
1 egg
1 tbsp (15 mL) sour cream
1 tsp (5 mL) Keen’s mustard or other English mustard
1 tsp (5 mL) brandy 
1 tsp (5 mL) Old Bay seasoning
1 lb (455 g) cooked lobster meat, cut into 1/2-inch (1-cm) chunks
2 tbsp (30 mL) unsalted butter
1/2 cup (125 mL) mayonnaise
1 tsp (5 mL) dried tarragon
1 tsp (5 mL) finely grated lemon zest
1/2 tsp (2 mL) ground black pepper
Canola oil for cooking
1/2 cup (125 mL) grated Gruyère
1/4 cup (60 mL) grated Parmesan
4 brioche buns, halved
4 leaves bibb or leaf lettuce, trimmed to fit bun

Directions: 

Place shrimp in bowl of food processor and pulse until a paste forms, about 30 seconds. Transfer to large bowl, fold in breadcrumbs, chives, egg, sour cream, mustard, brandy and Old Bay until thoroughly mixed. Add lobster and mix until just combined. Form into four equal patties to fit buns. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, but no more than 8 hours.

Place butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook until brown and foamy, about 3 minutes. Cool 2 minutes. Combine brown butter, mayonnaise,  tarragon, lemon zest and pepper in medium bowl and stir to combine. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve, up 1 week.

Heat a film of oil in a large ovenproof, nonstick frying pan over medium-high heat. Add burgers and reduce heat to medium. Cook until well browned  and an internal temperature of 165°F (74°C) is reached, about 3 minutes per side.

While burgers are cooking, preheat broiler on low.

When burgers are done, combine Gruyère and Parmesan and divide evenly over burgers. Place frying pan under broiler until cheese is golden brown, about 2 minutes. Remove from oven.

Toast buns and spread mayo mixture on both sides. Top with burgers and lettuce. Serve immediately.  Serves 4

 

 

Lime Tarragon Tarts With White Chocolate Cream

Lime Tarragon Tarts with 

White Chocolate Cream

These tarts make a lovely ending to a meal. The pastry is one place where dried tarragon works better than fresh.

Pastry:

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tbsp granulated sugar
1 tsp dried tarragon
½ tsp grated lime rind
½ tsp salt
½ cup cold butter, cubed
1 egg yolk
1 tbsp lime juice

Lime Curd 
4 eggs 
1/3 cup fresh lime juice 
½ cup granulated sugar 
2 tsp grated lime zest 
½ cup unsalted cold butter, cut in 8 pieces 

Chocolate Cream
1 cup whipping cream 
6 oz white chocolate 
2 tsp chopped fresh tarragon 
8 tarragon sprigs

Directions:

Combine flour, sugar, tarragon, lime rind and salt in a food processor. Add in butter and pulse until mixture resembles small peas. Combine egg yolk and lime juice and pulse into pastry until clusters hold together when squeezed. Do not process so much that dough forms a ball. 

Roll dough out on a floured surface until 1/8 inch thick. Using a 4-inch cookie cutter, cut out 8 circles. If needed, bring remaining dough back together and re-roll. Fit circles into a standard muffin cup, pressing in corners. Prick the base of each tart and freeze for 30 minutes. 

Preheat oven to 350°F while pastry is chilling. 

4 Bake tart shells in the lower third of the oven until pastry is pale gold around the edges, about 15 to 20 minutes. Cool completely. 

5 Place eggs in heavy pot. Whisk together with lime juice, sugar and lime zest. Place pot over medium heat and cook, whisking constantly, until sugar is dissolved and mixture is warm, about 2 minutes. Slowly whisk in cold butter. Continue to cook, stirring with a wooden spoon or spatula rather than whisking, until mixture thickens and you can see the bottom of the pot when you draw a spoon across, about 8 to 10 minutes. The mixture should coat the back of a spoon. Do not allow to boil otherwise it will curdle. The mixture will thicken more as it cools. 

Transfer curd to a bowl and place a sheet of plastic wrap directly over mixture to prevent a skin forming. Poke a few holes in the plastic to allow steam to escape. Refrigerate until cold, about 2 hours. Fill tart shells with the lime curd, up to 12 hours in advance. 

Bring cream to a simmer. Remove from heat and stir in white chocolate until smooth. Cool completely in the refrigerator, about 1 hour. Remove from refrigerator and whisk until mixture is thickened and soft peaks form, about 3 minutes. Gently fold in chopped tarragon. Top the tarts with 1 to 2 tbsp. whipping cream and garnish with tarragon sprigs.

Makes 8 tarts