This dish is a table full of festive cheer and flavour

Let the quality of the produce speak for itself with this seafood dazzler.

It’s time to think Christmas with this fesstivel recipe. Photo: Nikki To / TWAM

Lennox Hastie

less than 2 min read

2:39PMDecember 04, 2024

The Weekend Australian Magazine

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Few dishes conjure a celebration like ­lobster. Splitting them in half is the only challenge here – the grill will do all the rest of the work, enhancing the crustacean’s natural sweetness. This recipe combines the smoky richness of grilled lobster with the fresh brightness of fennel, juicy peaches, fragrant basil and the citrus pop of finger lime. The espelette pepper adds an aromatic warmth that ties it all together.

Try my other Christmas dishes, prawn toasts and bombe alaska.

A plate full of Christmas cheer. Lennox Hastie’s lobster. Photos: Nikki To / TWAM

Start by placing the lobster in the freezer for a humane and painless death.

Grilled lobster

Ingredients

• 2 live lobsters (1kg-1.2kg each)
• 200ml olive oil
• 2 teaspoon espelette pepper
• 1 lemon
• 1 bulb fennel, thinly sliced
• 1 ripe peach, thinly sliced
• Handful fresh basil leaves
• 2 finger limes
• Sea salt

Method

1. Place the lobsters in the freezer for 10 to 15 minutes to render them insensible. To kill a lobster humanely, swiftly insert the point of a heavy knife in the middle of the head between its two eyes. This is best done on a tray to collect the juices. Split each lobster in half lengthwise.
2. Remove the intestinal tract and discard. In a small bowl, mix 160ml of olive oil, espelette pepper, the zest of half the lemon, and a generous pinch of salt. Brush the cut side of each lobster generously with the seasoned oil. Preheat your grill to medium heat.
3. Place the lobsters shell-side down on the grill and pour the juices back into the head cavity. Cover with a tray and cook for 10 to 12 minutes (depending on size), at which point the delicate translucent flesh will have turned opaque and the shell bright orange. In a small saucepan, warm the remaining seasoned oil and, removing the lobster from the grill, pour the oil over the head and body of the lobster.
4. Toss the fennel, peach and basil leaves in a large bowl. Drizzle with remaining 40ml of olive oil and the zest and juice of the remaining half a lemon, and season with salt. Halve the finger limes and gently squeeze to remove the vesicles, or “pearls”. Scatter these over the salad just before serving for a vibrant citrus burst.
5. Arrange the grilled lobsters on a large serving platter. Garnish with an extra sprinkle of espelette pepper and a squeeze of fresh lemon. Serve lobster alongside the fennel and peach salad, ensuring each plate gets a bit of the finger lime pearls for brightness.Serves 4