Grilled lobster with basil mayonnaise

This is a smart yet unpretentious dish and well worth the little bit of extra effort. Lobster is a fantastic ingredient to cook with but, being a bit squeamish, I find dispatching it a very hard thing to do without giving way to a bit of nervous laughter. This is a job best left to the fishmonger.

To make the basil oil, place the basil leaves in a bowl and pour boiling water over them. Leave for about 30 seconds until the leaves turn a brighter green. Drain, refresh under cold running water, drain again, then squeeze dry in kitchen paper. Place in a food processor. Add both oils and process to a puree. Scrape into a bowl, cover and chill overnight.

Line a sieve with muslin and set it over a deep bowl. Pour in the basil and oil puree and leave undisturbed for about 1 hour or until all the oil has filtered through into the bowl. The solids left behind in the sieve can now be discarded. Cover well and chill the oil until needed.

To make the mayonnaise, you will need 200ml/ 7fl oz/scant 1 cup basil oil. If you do not have enough, make it up with more sunflower oil. Place the crushed garlic in a bowl. Add the mustard with 2.5ml/½ tsp of the lemon juice and a little salt and white pepper. Mix well. Whisk in the egg yolks, then start adding the basil oil, a drop at a time, whisking continuously until the mixture starts to thicken. At this stage it is usually safe to start adding the oil a little faster. When you have 45ml/3 tbsp oil left, whisk in the remaining lemon juice and then add the rest of the oil. Finally, whisk in 7.5ml/1 \ tsp cold water. Cover the mayonnaise and chill until needed.

Prepare the barbecue. Chop the basil and mix it with the oil and garlic in a bowl. Season lightly. Once the flames have died down, rake the coals to get more on one side than the other. Position a lightly oiled grill rack over the coals to heat. When the coals are medium to cool, or with a moderate to thick coating of ash, brush some of the oil mixture over the cut side of each lobster half. Place cut-side down on the grill rack on the side away from the bulk of the coals. Grill for 5 minutes. Turn the lobsters over, baste with more oil mixture and cook for 10-15 minutes more, basting and moving about the rack occasionally. Grill the lime halves at the same time, placing them cut-side down for 3 minutes. This helps to release their juices and gives a slight caramel flavor. Serve the lobster with the mayonnaise and the grilled lime halves.

Serves 2-4
15 fresh basil leaves, roughly chopped
60ml/4 tbsp olive oil
1 garlic clove, crushed
2 freshly killed lobsters, cut in half lengthways and cleaned
Salt and ground black pepper
2 limes, halved, to serve
For the basil oil and mayonnaise
40g/ 1 ½ oz/1½ cups basil leaves stripped from their stalks
175ml/6fl oz/ ¾ cup sunflower oil, plus extra if needed
45ml/3 tbsp olive oil
1 small garlic clove, crushed
2.5ml/ ½ tsp dry English (hot) mustard
10ml/2 tsp lemon juice
2 egg yolks
Ground white pepper