Recipe courtesy of Chef Jernard Wells of Cleo TV as featured on his new show, “New Soul Kitchen.”
Yield: 4 serving. | Total Time: 30 minutes
INGREDIENTS
1pound dried elbow pasta
½ cup unsalted butter
1 cup sliced Andouille sausage cooked
1 ½ pounds cooked lobster meat
½ cup all-purpose flour
1 ½ cups heavy cream
2 ½ cups half and half
3 cups grated smoked gouda cheese
2 cups grated smoked cheddar cheese, divided
1 cup grated gruyere cheese, divided
½ tablespoon salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon smoked paprika
1 tablespoon grated nutmeg
PREPARATION
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees and grease 4 mini cast iron skillets and set aside.
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add dried pasta and cook 1 minute less than the package directs so they cook to al dente. Drain and drizzle with a little bit of olive oil to prevent sticking.
- Heat a large sauté pan over medium-high heat and melt 2 tablespoons of butter and add in sausage and cook until brown. Add in the lobster meat and cook until bright red and firm.
- Grate the smoked gouda, smoked cheddar, and gruyere cheese and toss together to mix, then divide into three separate piles. It should be approximately 3 cups for the sauce, 1 1/2 cups for the inner layer, and 1 ½ cups for the topping.
- Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Sprinkle in flour and whisk to combine to form a roux. Cook for approximately 1 minute to cook out the raw flavor of the flour.
- While continuously whisking slowly pour in about 2 cups of the heavy cream and half and half, until there are no visible lumps of roux. Slowly pour in the remaining heavy cream and half and half.
- Continue to cook over medium heat, whisking often, until thickened. Stir in herbs and 1 ½ cups of the cheeses followed by the lobster & sausage. Add in another 1 ½ cups of cheese and stir until completely melted.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine drained pasta with seafood & cheese sauce.
- Pour half of the pasta mixture into the prepared baking dish. Top with 1 ½ cups of grated cheeses, then top the middle layer with the remaining pasta mixture.
- Sprinkle the top with the last 1 ½ cups of cheese and bake for 15 minutes, until the cheese is bubbly and lightly golden brown.
