This month, Tony Beales – managing director of award-winning caterers, Beales Gourmet at The Italian Villa – wanted to celebrate the incredible seafood found surrounding our Dorset shores...

You may love ordering lobster in restaurants, but why not have a go recreating this delicious dish in the comfort of your own home?

Of course, if you’d love to have a home dinner party with the wow factor, give their team a call and Beales Gourmet will look after your whole evening for you.

Serves 4 people

Ingredients:

4 small live Atlantic lobsters (approximately 500g each)

Garlic & herb oil

Seasonal salad (leaves, cherry tomatoes, cucumber etc..)

1kg Maris Piper potatoes

2 whole lemons

Tarragon

Hollandaise sauce

2 free range egg yolks

35cl white wine vinegar

1x 250g pack of salted butter

Juice from half a lemon

Black peppercorns

1 Bay leaf

Fresh tarragon

Method:

Plunge the lobsters into boiling salted water for 30 seconds to quickly kill them. Remove them from the water and cut them in half, long ways, starting at the head. Crack the claws with the back of a knife (or mallet) to allow the heat to permeate the claw meat. Season with salt, freshly ground pepper and garlic & herb oil before grilling on a hot char-grill until seared. Pop in the oven at 170 degrees for 5-10 minutes depending on the size of the lobster.

While the lobster is cooking (or prepare before you start on the lobster), cut chips from the potatoes and bring to the boil in salted water. Simmer for 3 minutes before draining and allow to dry on a clean cloth. Then blanch the potatoes in oil at 140 degrees for 5 minutes.

Remove and drain again and then turn up your fryer to 190 degrees. Finish the chips in the hot oil until golden and more importantly CRISPY! Season with sea salt before serving.

For the hollandaise sauce, simmer the butter for approximately 30-40 minutes and remove all the impurities that float to the top. Once clarified, leave to cool slightly before pouring in the yolks. While the butter is clarifying, prepare the vinegar reduction by simmering the white wine vinegar, tarragon stalks, crushed peppercorns and a bay leaf until it has reduced by half. Strain over the egg yolks and whisk in a round-bottomed bowl over a water bath until light and fluffy. Make sure the bottom of the bowl is not touching the water or else the yolks will overcook and scramble. Then whisk the butter slowly into the yolk mixture to complete the Hollandaise sauce. Add a little warm water if the sauce gets too thick. The sauce needs to be light and airy. Finish with salt, pepper, chopped tarragon and a squeeze lemon juice.

Serve the lobster on a rustic board or large plate with plenty of tarragon hollandaise, fresh lemon, crispy home-made chips and a delicious dressed summer salad.

Enjoy!

Tony Beales

Visit bealesgourmet.com/recipe-month-lobster-chips-tarragon-hollandaise/ to watch the video.

Beales Gourmet, Compton Acres, Canford Cliffs Road, Poole

T: 01202 700992

W: bealesgourmet.com