Autumn seems to be everybody’s favorite season, doesn’t it? We have long Winters here and some of the allure of Autumn, for me anyways, is how fleeting it is before it gives way to the bitter cold. Ugh, I hate the cold. Apart from that, there is something almost ineffable about the beauty of Autumn. The cool, crisp air. The scent of earthiness and wood-burning fires. Leaves in the most splendid array of rich, vibrant colors. ASMR-inducing crunch-crunch-crunch of fallen, dry leaves underfoot. And as for taste, we crave the return of comfort foods after a summer of lighter fare. Foods that feel like a cozy hug for a hungry tummy, like this Lobster and Truffle Oil Mac + Cheese with Crunchy Chickpea Crumbs.

This recipe is based on my go-to Dairy Free Mac + Cheese recipe, which I’ve streamlined and perfected after making it dozens and dozens of times. My daughters love it. But this time, I gave it an ADULT UPGRADE with chunks of lobster tail, cremini mushrooms, white truffle oil and a crunchy chickpea crumb topping. YUM.

I was so excited about this recipe when I thought of it, while I was making it and while I was eating it. I knew it was going to hit all the right notes for me (mega lobster lover) and my husband (mega truffle oil lover). The surprising thing is, even my 5 and 7 year olds completely loved it and kept asking for more. I was so pleased and so happy I took a chance on changing up their beloved dairy-free mac + cheese.

The funny thing is, as a creature of habit, I would have happily continued making my usual version if it wasn’t for the arrival of my PC Black Label Black Box. Once again, the contents did not let me down! This month I was surprised with the PC Black Label White Truffle Oil, PC Black Label Smoked Paprika Spice and PC Black Label Nero Di Seppia Conchiglie Pasta (cuttlefish ink pasta). It’s been such a delight how my partnership with PC Black Label on these recipes have opened my kitchen to so many adventurous flavors. Their products have truly lived up to their #PlayWithYourFood mantra. I hope I have done my job here too, to inspire you to do the same in your kitchen, which is to have a little fun with new ingredients.

For example, if you’re not used to cooking lobster at home, please do not be intimidated! There is no need to deal with whole, live lobsters if you don’t have the tenacity for it. I grew up watching my dad cook whole lobsters many times at home and I don’t even quite have the stomach to do it myself. Frozen lobster tails are readily available at most supermarkets, and they’re quite fantastic.

Once thawed overnight in the fridge or 30 minutes in a bowl of water, they poach in a mere 3 to 4 minutes. A few big scrolls down to the “Method” section of this post, I talk you through (with images) exactly how to easily extract the lobster flesh from the shell with a pair of kitchen shears and your fingers. Lobster heaven shall be yours.

I went with a full pound of in-shell frozen lobster tails in this recipe (there’s less of it once the shells are removed). In my mind, one of life’s worst bummers is ordering a lobster roll where there is more bun than lobster. It happens a lot! So disappointing. I don’t want to create that kind of sorrow in my own kitchen. It cost me about CAD25 (approx USD20) for a pound or 8 small tails at my local grocery store. Perhaps not an everyday indulgence, but not atrociously prohibitive either and definitely cheaper than at a restaurant. If you’re not quite as lobster-obsessed as me, feel free to buy a little less to save a few dollars. I think 3/4 lbs would still feel like a solid indulgence.

Finally, let’s have a quick chat about that crispy chickpea crumb topping. It’s nothing short of a miracle as a gluten-free alternative to conventional panko or breadcrumbs. I use the same blitzed chickpea crumbs in my crispy baked chicken cutlets and 4-ingredient chicken nuggets too and they are both da bomb. Make sure you are buying the snacking kind of roasted chickpeas for this, not the kind of chickpeas you roast yourself in the oven at home. Although I have not tried it, I do believe home-roasted chickpeas would be too wet to create the crunchy crumb texture we want for this topping.

NOTES:

1. BLENDER. A high-speed blender is used to make the sauce. If you don't have one, you can use regular blender or food processor but you should soak the cashews at least 3 hours (see note #2 below) to achieve a smooth sauce.

2. SOAKING CASHEWS 3HR OR OVERNIGHT (OPTIONAL): I like to soak the cashews at least 3 hours up to overnight if more convenient. I've explained before in more detail here but essentially soaking nuts make them more digestible and yields a silky smooth texture when blended. However, if you don't have time, you may skip the soak step and use unsoaked cashews in the recipe as long as you have a high-powered blender (such as Vitamix or Blendtec), you will achieve that silky smooth sauce!

3. ROASTED DRY CHICKPEA CRUMB: This is made by blitzing dry roasted chickpeas in a blender or food processor to a coarse crumb. I use store-bought sea-salted roasted chickpeas, the snacking kind. I don't recommend roasting your own chickpeas for this as I feel the moisture content would prevent it from forming a nice crunchy crumb topping.

Lobster Truffle Oil Mac + Cheese

{ dairy free, gluten free }

Recipe serves 4.

INGREDIENTS

1/2 C raw unsalted cashews (soak 3 hrs up to overnight, optional - see headnotes)

3/4 lb (340g) dry short gluten-free pasta of your choice (such as spirals, macaroni, penne, fusili, shell, etc.)

1 lb (454g) frozen in-shell lobster tails, thawed overnight in fridge or 30 minutes in cool water bath

For the chickpea crumb topping:

1C salted, roasted chickpeas (the store-bought, snacking kind; see headnotes)

Small handful of parsley leaves

1/2 tsp PC Black Label White Truffle Oil

For the sauce:

3/4 lb (340g) cremini mushrooms (or other varieties such as button, shiitake or oyster mushrooms)

2 tbsp ghee or oil of your choice such as avocado oil or extra virgin olive oil

2 cloves garlic, finely minced

2 sprigs fresh thyme, chopped

1/4 tsp PC Black Label Sweet Paprika Spice

1 C unsweetened almond milk

1 1/4 C chicken broth, homemade or a quality low-sodium store bought

4 tbsp arrowroot starch

6 tbsp nutritional yeast

2 tsp kosher salt, more or less to taste depending on salt content of your broth (my broth is unsalted)

1/4 tsp black pepper

1/2 tsp dijon mustard

4 tsp PC Black Label White Truffle Oil

To serve:

More drizzles of PC Black Label White Truffle Oil.

METHOD

[Optional step - see headnotes] Soak cashews: Place the cashews in 1 cup of water and soak 3 hours up to overnight. If you don't have time, skip the soaking step and use the cashews dry.

Cook Pasta: Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cook dry pasta 2 minutes less than box direction. Drain by scooping pasta into a colander so you can use the pasta water for cooking the lobster in the next step. Set aside the pasta.

Cook Lobster Tails:

Bring the water back to a boil. Place the lobster tails into the water such that all pieces are submerged. Bring back to a simmer and cook for about 3 to 3.5 minutes. Using tongs, remove them from water and rest on cutting board. Once cooled enough to touch, remove one tail from its shell to test doneness (instructions follow).

How to remove the lobster tails from their shells. Use kitchen shears to cut along the inner softer part of the shell. Crack the shell open with your hands gripping firmly on both sides. Insert two fingers along length of the flesh and gently tug it out with slight wiggling motion until you feel the tail detach. See images above for visual reference.

Cut into the thickest part of the tail. The flesh should be white and opaque, not translucent or greyish. If it needs more cooking, place back into pot and simmer for a minute at a time, checking in between to make sure you don't overcook it. Don't forget that the lobster pieces will be tossed with the pasta and heated further in the oven later too. Cut lobster tails into 3/4" chunks. Set aside.

[Optional step] Simmer lobster shells in broth: Rather than discard the lobster shells, you may want to simmer the shells in your chicken broth to extract the lobster flavor from the shells too, while you move onto the next steps. Otherwise you can discard the shells.

Make the chickpea crumb topping: Place chickpeas into a blender. A food processor works too but I'm using the same blender I will be using to blend the sauce later. Pulse until the chickpeas are broken down into large coarse crumbs. Throw in the fresh parsley leaves and truffle oil, and pulse a few more times to create a somewhat uniformly crumbly mixture - see image. See aside.

Make the sauce:

Heat a medium sized oven-safe pot over medium heat. While it's heating, mince the fresh garlic cloves. Add your ghee or oil of choice and saute the garlic, thyme and paprika until it is fragrant but being careful not to burn the garlic by moving it around constantly. Add about half the chopped mushrooms (half so as not to overcrowd and end up steaming them!) and saute until browned. Season them with salt now. Scoop aside and saute the remaining mushrooms with a little more ghee or oil, seasoning them with salt only at the end as well. Scoop the rest aside.

At this point, preheat your oven to 350f.

To the empty pot, add almond milk and chicken broth. Immediately sift in arrowroot starch before the liquid boils (based on my experience the arrowroot starch seems to lump up less when whisked into cooler liquids). I use a cheap hand-held strainer held over the pot and spoon tablespoons of starch directly into the strainer. Whisk vigorously. Don't worry even if you do get some lumps as they will be smoothed out in the blender in any case.

Blend the sauce until smooth:

Transfer mixture to the blender, being careful not to splash yourself with the hot liquid. Add cashews, nutritional yeast , salt, black pepper, dijon mustard and truffle oil. Blend on high until creamy and smooth ~ 1-2 minutes.

Taste! Taste and adjust seasonings as needed, adding more nutritional yeast, salt and/or black pepper. The salt you add depends on your personal taste but also the salt content in the broth you used. The sauce should definitely be fairly tasty and salty since it will be combined (diluted) with pasta and lobster. Return sauce back to same pot.

Assemble and bake: Add the sauteed mushrooms, lobster pieces and cooked pasta into the pot of sauce. Toss gently to combine. If needed, add splash more broth, almond milk or water if it seems thick. If your pot is tall, you may want to transfer everything into a shallow cassarole dish. I left it in the same pot since mine was a shallow one (fewer dirty dishes yippee!). Sprinkle your chickpea topping all over and bake in the oven for 15 minutes or until it bubbles and is very hot. Serve with an extra drizzle of truffle oil.

Enjoy!

xx

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