6 recipes that prove cheese and seafood work together in cooking

The sight of a lobster on the plate always signifies a special occasion, and while they’re often served simply boiled with some mayonnaise and bread on the side, there’s so much more you can do to make them special. Here, the lobster meat is stirred into a sauce Americane, full of booze, fish stock, tomatoes and cream, before being stuffed back into the shells and topped with a bechamel-style sauce enriched with Gruyère AOP, before being grilled until bubbly and golden. The dressed lobster meat retains its juicy freshness, but the savoury-sweet molten Gruyère adds another complex element that really works.

One of the best examples of how fish and cheese do work together is a classic French fish soup, which is traditionally accompanied by croutons, grated cheese and a saffron mayonnaise known as a rouille. Rather than focusing on the fresh, light, subtle flavours and textures of fish, these soups are all about gutsy, deep, robust flavours that come from frying or roasting fish, then boiling their carcasses to extract every last possible bit of flavour. The result is something seriously rich and moreish – adding grated Gruyère AOP to it simply amplifies the flavours already present.

Skate is a meaty, robust fish, which means it can hold its own against equally bold sauces – something this recipe proves perfectly. The skate wings are roasted with mushrooms and plenty of butter, before being covered in a thick Gruyère AOP sauce and grilled until bubbling. The earthiness of the mushrooms, meatiness of the fish and creamy richness of the cheese sauce all complement and contrast with one another at the same time, producing a wonderfully satisfying meal that’s perfect for a chilly autumn evening.