Baked Lobster with Garlic & Herb Butter

1. Preheat your oven to 180°C/Fan 160°C/Gas 4. Wrap the garlic bulb in foil. Pop in the oven and bake for 25 mins till the garlic is tender and cooked through. Remove the garlic from the oven and let it cool for 5-10 mins. Unwrap the garlic bulb. Break it into cloves and squeeze the roasted garlic from its papery skins. Scoop it into a bowl.

2. Finely chop the parsley leaves and stalks. Add to the garlic. Finely grate in the zest from the lemon. Add the softened butter and grind in a generous amount of black pepper. Mash the butter and seasonings together till well combined. Alternatively, whizz everything together in a food processor.

3. Spoon the flavoured butter onto a small sheet of baking paper and roll it up to make a cylinder. Chill in the fridge for at least 1 hr. The butter will keep ell in the fridge for up to 7 days or you can freeze it for up to a month. Just make sure it's well wrapped.

4. To bake the lobster, preheat your oven to 220°C/Fan 200°C/Gas 7. Place the lobster halves in a snug ovenproof dish. Dot 50g of the butter over the lobster meat. Bake for 12-15 mins till the lobsters are golden and warmed all the through. Meanwhile, melt the remaining butter in a pan and pour it into 2 small ramekins.

5. Pop the lobster halves on 2 plates. Add the ramekins of melted butter for dipping the lobster in. Serve with crusty bread and a salad garnish.

6. Pick Your Herb
Parsley, lemon and garlic is a classic combination and great with seafood. But you can pick a different herb for your butter if you don't like parsley. Herbs that'd work really well in this dish include chervil, tarragon, dill, chives and basil.