Skip to main content
Main

Lobster Scalloped

A baked lobster dish with white sauce, egg yolks, and breadcrumbs.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 9 ingredients
Jump to recipe ↓

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 and pound it with 1 ounce of butter, then pass it through a fine sieve.

  2. Cut the lobster flesh into small dice.

Make the filling

  1. Heat the white sauce, then add the pounded spawn, anchovy essence, cayenne, and seasoning. Stir over low heat for a few minutes.

  2. Add the lobster and egg yolks, stirring and cooking slowly for 2 to 3 minutes.

  3. Transfer the mixture into well-buttered scallop shells or the lobster shell.

Bake and serve

  1. Top with a thin layer of breadcrumbs, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and add a few small pieces of butter.

  2. 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

Lobster
Provides the main meaty texture and sweet flavour of the dish.
White sauce
Forms the creamy base that binds the filling and keeps it moist.
Egg yolks
Enrich and thicken the filling as they gently cook, adding richness and body.
Butter
Adds fat for rich flavour and helps the breadcrumbs brown in the oven.
Breadcrumbs
Form a top layer that crisps and browns during baking.
Anchovy essence
Adds a savoury, salty depth that enhances the lobster flavour.

The step that matters

Cooking the egg yolks into the filling. Egg yolks thicken when heated but can scramble if the mixture boils or cooks too fast. Stirring over low heat keeps the filling 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.

You might also like

Lobster SauceLobster Sauce174 recipesLobster CroquettesLobster Croquettes99 recipesLobster BallsLobster Balls7 recipesTomato SoupTomato Soup526 recipes