Lobster Patties

Ingredients

• boiled lobster
• lobster spawn
• 1 ladle gravy or broth
• a few bread crumbs
• 55 g butter
• pepper
• salt
• 1 lemon
• puff paste

Method

Pound the lobster spawn and small claws into a fine paste — this becomes the base of your sauce and will emulsification|emulsify with the broth to create the glossy binding that coats each piece of meat. Add one ladle of broth or gravy and a handful of bread crumbs to the paste, then set the pan over medium heat. Bring to a gentle boil, stirring constantly. The bread crumbs will absorb liquid and stabilise the mixture; continue until it thickens noticeably, then pass through a fine sieve. The sauce should emerge smooth and cream-like — if it's still loose, you've undersieved or need more crumb. Reserve half of this sauce.

Fold the reserved sauce into the diced lobster meat along with 55g butter, salt, and pepper to taste. Squeeze in lemon juice — the acid brightens the sweet brininess of the lobster and cuts the richness of the butter. Warm the mixture over gentle heat only until the butter melts and everything is just hot through; overcooking toughens the already-cooked meat. Cool completely before filling — warm filling will soften the pastry and prevent it from setting properly during baking.

Line your patty tins with puff paste, pressing it firmly into the corners. Fill each with the cooled lobster mixture, then cover with a second layer of paste. Seal the edges with a fork or your fingertips, ensuring no gaps where steam can escape unevenly. Bake at 200°C for 45 minutes until the pastry turns deep golden — the crust should be crisp and shattered when you tap it, not pale or soft.

Warm the remaining half of your sauce gently with a knob of butter, whisking to restore smoothness and a cream-like consistency. Cut the pastry lid cleanly from each patty and lean it against the filling at an angle, creating a window to the lobster beneath. Pour the warm sauce into that gap and around the sides. Serve at once — the contrast between the hot sauce and the crisp, cooled pastry|pastry shell is the dish's entire point.