This is a recipe I have dreamt up incorporating lots of the skills and techniques I have learned during my time in culinary school. Despite having fabricated a lobster a few times in school, it is definitely still challenging for me…That is why I want to continue challenging myself; we learn the most when we push ourselves out of our comfort zone!
Once the lobsters are clean, the rest of this dish is smooth sailing. Using the head of the lobster, I make a flavorful lobster stock* with mirepoix, water, and a splash of white wine. To build the sauce, I am bringing in another technique from school – a classic velouté. Velouté is one of the 5 “mother sauces” of French cuisine listed by chef Auguste Escoffier in the early twentieth century, along with espagnole, tomato, béchamel, and mayonnaise or hollandaise. The sauce is made by whisking in a light stock to a butter and flour rue. In this spin, I am swapping in lobster stock. The result is a smooth, creamy sauce which I further enrich with a bay leaf, saffron, and a touch of cream for even more flavor depth. A final garnish of toasted panko with lemon zest brings in a new element of texture and freshness.
*(you can purchase cleaned lobster tails and premade lobster stock if you want to expedite the process).
The BEST creamy lobster pasta
Ingredients
- 2 whole large lobsters
- 2 stalks celery (2 oz)
- 1 carrot (2 oz)
- 1 small onion (4 oz)
- 1/4 cup white wine
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 5 cups cold water
- 2 oz butter
- 2 oz AP flour
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 pinch saffron
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- 1 LB pasta (I like bucatini here)
- 1/2 cup panko
- 1 lemon, zested
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Fabricate the lobster down to the tail, claws, and a cleaned out (not rinsed, just with a paper towel) head shell.
- Bring a pot of water to a boil and prepare an ice bath. Drop in the lobster claws for 8 minutes and the tails (2 minutes later) for 6 minutes into the boiling water. Transfer into the ice bath. Remove from water, crack shells to release lobster meat and give it a rough chop into bite size chunks.
- Drizzle olive oil into a large pot over medium heat. Drop in the headshells and toast for a minute. Add in the tomato paste and continue to cook for another 2 minutes. Add in the mirepoix and cook for 3-5 minutes to soften the vegetables. Add in the wine and water, bring up to a boil then reduce to a simmer and cook for 30-45 minuets. Strain through a fine mesh strainer and set aside.
- Melt butter in another large pot. Slowly add in the flour, while whisking constantly, to build a rue. Continue to cook for a few minutes until the mixture liquifies a bit and a blonde color is achieved. Begin adding in the stock (should be 4 cups), a little at a time while whisking to incorporate. Make sure there are no lumps. Continue to cook at a simmer for 15 minutes, stirring often. Add in the bay leaf, saffron, cream and salt and pepper to taste. Toss in the lobster meat a few minutes before mixing with the pasta.
- Add panko onto a baking sheet and bake on a high broil until golden brown. **Watch CLOSELY as it can quickly burn. Combine tosted panko with lemon zest.
- Bring water to boil, salt liberally, then cook your pasta according to the package until al dente. Drain and toss with the lobster sauce until well coated.
- Garnish pasta with panko mix and parsley greens.
Just lovely. Thank you
Thank you SO much ❤️