Girolles and hazelnuts are just the most glorious combination – both sweet, nutty and earthy, they complement each other well. The lobster was actually just a vehicle for the girolles, and it could just as easily have been baked squash I made last week, or any number of roasted vegetables.
Girolles are a beautiful colour – they look (and are said to smell) like apricots. They generally grow in a group together, and are best picked a few days after rain, to allow a decent amount of growth.
If you don’t have a pet forager, you can get girolles right now from the lovely people at Natoora, or from them via Ocado. They require the minimum amount of cleaning, and personally I find them easiest to clean with a filleting knife. The blade is particularly flexible, and allows you to ‘flick’ the dirt out of the gills, and to lightly ‘scrape’ the top of the mushroom. I’ve tried almost every other method, from a light rinse and spin, brushing with natural bristle, and brushing with silicone bristles – both of which merely drove the dirt further into the gills.
The lobster was sealed in a vacuum bag with butter, a splash of vermouth, about 10 pink peppercorns and sprigs of lemon thyme. I also put a teaspoon of sumac into the bottom of the pouch. They were cooked in a water bath at 60ºC for 15 minutes, but frankly they weren’t terribly big. You might need to adjust your timings accordingly.
Once I’d browned the girolles until golden in some rapeseed oil and butter, I flashed the lobster through the butter just to pick up some more of the girolle scent. Both were served with a few crushed toasted hazelnuts, and a dressing made from the reduced reserved lobster liquor, and a little white balsamic vinegar.