Thanks to Rebecca for asking about when shellfish can be introduced. See below for more info 😀

To celebrate Pop’s birthday we made this special dish on Saturday. It made a small lobster go a long way and it was a big hit with all ages! We got our lobster from the lovely fishermen at Cadgwith Cove. 
This recipe is adapted from Jamie Oliver’s comfort food to make it baby friendly (& cheaper). If you’re not feeling like splurging on lobster you can substitute in crab. Special occasion food can still be for everyone 😍
Portions: this served 4 adults & 6 baby portions (I’ve frozen 4!). If you’re hungry you’ll just have none to freeze. 

Ingredients:

1lb whole live lobster (or frozen – just don’t need to do the first part of the instructions!). 

2 medium onions diced (or frozen equivalent)

4 finely diced cloves of garlic (or frozen equivalent)

1tbsp vegetable oil

1tsp mustard powder

1/4tsp cayenne pepper

1-2 anchovies finely sliced or 1tsp fish paste (I used sardine paste as it was open in the fridge!)

45g plain flour

700ml milk (semi or skimmed if watching your weight)

300g pasta. Eg 150g macaroni & 150g cavatappi (corkscrew) or whatever shape takes your fancy. I like having a couple of different ones (easier if cook times are the same!) to enhance the texture of the dish. 

75g mature cheddar, grated

1 can of butter beans. 

50g Parmesan, finely grated

To serve: Broccoli or green beans or veggies of your choice – enough for generous servings for everyone. If you want a one pot dish you could add peas to the macaroni. 

Method:

If fresh them freeze the lobster for 2 hours so that its unconscious and then carefully place into a pan of boiling water. Boil for 15 minutes. If your lobster is bigger you’ll need to cook for longer.

Meanwhile in a oven proof pan fry off the onions and garlic in the oil until softened. 

Mix in the anchovies, mustard powder, cayenne and flour.

Add in the milk, mix well and summer for 10 minutes.  

Meanwhile cook the pasta according to packet instructions (save a little of the cooking water) and pick the meat out of the lobster (there’s a good tutorial on Jamie’s website!). Shake the juice from the lobster head into the sauce. 

Roughly chop up the lobster meat. 

Add the cheddar to the cooking pot and stir through. 

Combine in the butter beans, pasta and meat. 

Sprinkle the Parmesan over the top and pop into the oven for 35 minutes. 

When can shellfish be introduced? 

There is no benefit in delaying the introduction of properly cooked shellfish. Avoid giving it raw though due to the higher risk of food poisoning. It’s recommended to introduce foods that more commonly cause allergy (shellfish being one of these) one at a time and 3 days apart so that you can keep an eye out for any allergic reactions. There’s some really good info at Allergy UK. 

#specialfood #dietitian #registereddietitian #weaning #lobstermacncheese #lovecornwall #cadgwith #familyfood