Over the past few months, hunkered- down under Safer-at-Home orders, with many of our favorite eateries out of delivery range, I’ve found myself trying to replicate some of the dishes that I would look forward to each time we would go out for dinner. Among these, the lobster linguine that can sometimes be found as a “special” at Ivy by the Shore in Santa Monica. As pastas go, it’s on the lighter side, not highly sauced, instead relying on the flavors of the lobster, parsley, garlic and tomatoes, infusing with the olive oil and a splash of white wine for a balanced and fresh culinary experience. This is best combined with lengthy and not-too-wide pastas like linguine or spaghetti. It's also extra special with black squid ink pasta.
Give this one a try, it’s much easier than it looks. And although you may not necessarily think of pasta as a summer dish, this is definitely one to enjoy alfresco with a glass of dry white wine as you watch the sun set after a long summer day.
INGREDIENTS
Two Atlantic lobster tails. (It’s OK if these are frozen when you buy them, but let them thaw in the refrigerator prior to cooking)
6 Garlic cloves
Olive oil
Italian parsley
15-20 Cherry tomatoes.
Either all red or multi-color.
Grated Pecorino Romano
Chili flakes (optional)
Some white wine. (Pinot Grigio or Chardonnay, not too sweet)
A pound of pasta. Linguine, spaghetti or fettuccine preferable.
DIRECTIONS
Set the pasta water to boil (lightly salt). Once the water is boiling, put the lobster tails in for 5 minutes.
Using tongs, remove the lobster tails from the boiling water and immediately put them into a bowl of ice water to cool.
Keep the same water for the pasta. There may be some foam at the top from the lobster, but that’s fine.
Carefully split the lobsters lengthwise and then gently remove the meat. Cut each length of lobster meat at each segment. Don’t cut the pieces too small. Set aside.
Mince the garlic. Slice tomatoes in half. Loosely chop the parsley. About a handful.
Once everything is chopped and prepped, add the pasta to the water, as the cooking of the sauce should only take about 7 minutes max.
Pour olive oil into a sauté pan until the bottom is covered. Don’t be stingy with the olive oil as that is basically what will be the sauce. Better to put a little too much than not enough.
Fry the garlic in the olive oil until it starts to turn a little golden brown. Then add the lobster pieces and a little salt to-taste.
Pour in a splash of the white wine, about 1/4 cup.
If you want this as a spicy dish add chili flakes.
After about two minutes on low heat add the chopped parsley.
The cherry tomatoes should be added about two minutes before the end of cooking as you do not want those to get overcooked. They should be fresh and still have some crispness to them.
Total cook time for the sauce is about 5 to 6 minutes.
Once you strain the pasta let it sit in the strainer.
Gently remove the lobster pieces and the cherry tomatoes with a slotted spoon and set aside in a bowl. This helps keep them from getting mangled when you’re mixing the pasta with the oil sauce...
Add the pasta right into the pan and toss. If everybody is good with cheese this is a good time to add some while you’re tossing.
Now with the pasta coated with the sauce you can transfer it into The serving dish.
Then you can strategically place the lobster pieces and tomatoes on top for a refined presentation. Throw on a little more fresh parsley as a garnish and you could also place one of the colorful shells at the edge of the plate for a pop of color.
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