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Lobster, Scalloped

A baked lobster dish with white sauce, eggs, anchovy essence, and breadcrumbs.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 9 ingredients
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Why it works: Sauce and anchovy are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,057 recipes. Both carry ethanol, which smells alcoholic, ethereal. The science ↓

Lobster, Scalloped

Oven, in the book's wordsA moderate oven

Ingredients

Directions

The book says “a moderate oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.

Prepare the lobster

  1. Remove the spawn from the lobster, pound it with 1 oz. of butter, then pass it through a fine sieve.

  2. Cut the lobster flesh into small dice.

Make the sauce

  1. Heat the white sauce, then add the pounded spawn, 1 teaspoon of anchovy essence, cayenne, and seasoning to taste.

  2. Stir over low heat for a few minutes, then add the lobster and yolks of egg, stirring and cooking slowly for 2 to 3 minutes longer.

Bake and serve

  1. Transfer the mixture into well-buttered scallop shells or the lobster shell, and add a thin layer of breadcrumbs.

  2. Sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper, add small pieces of butter, and bake in a moderate oven at 350 °F (175 °C) for about 30 minutes.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Sauce + anchovytop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,057 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

  2. Lobster + anchovytop 4% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together470 recipes

    Shared aroma: octanal (fat, soap).

  3. Lobster + saucetop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together1,095 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

  4. Egg + anchovytop 12% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,330 recipes

    Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).

  5. Anchovy + buttertop 13% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together3,697 recipes

    Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Hen lobster
Provides the main flesh and the spawn that flavours the sauce.
White sauce
Forms the creamy base that binds the lobster into a moist filling.
Yolks of eggs
Thicken the mixture gently as it cooks, giving it a richer, set texture.
Anchovy essence
Adds a salty, savoury depth that enhances the lobster flavour.
Butter
Adds richness and helps the top brown in the oven.
Breadcrumbs
Form a crisp, golden topping over the filling as it bakes.

The step that matters

Cooking the yolks with the lobster. Egg yolks thicken when heated but can curdle or turn grainy if the heat is too high. Stirring over low heat keeps the sauce smooth and creamy.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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