Simple ingredients, quietly beautiful!
There’s something about lobster, pasta, and lemon that sounds so good on a cold Winter’s night. This recipe brings together sweet lobster, a beautifully shaped pasta, baby spinach, wine, cream and just a hint of lemon in a sauce that is silky smooth. It’s a comforting dish to enjoy — warm, elegant, cozy where the simplest ingredients become a little celebration of the Tuscan countryside. (I have fond memories of a cooking class we took at Il Borro, Italy) (If you look at the video we stayed in one of the lodgings in the medieval village.)
I was looking for a recipe to use the lobster I had leftover from making my Lobster, Shrimp Escargot a few months ago. When looking for ingredients for the escargot appetizer I found lobster meat in the freezer seafood section of our HEB and thought it was perfect for making my trio of escargot and no fooling around with trying to decide how many lobster tails to buy and shell for my dish.
I’m not sure why food memories cling to me the way they do, but I keep a journal of every restaurant we visit when we travel, and I can remember a meal down to its smallest detail.
I have never wanted to miss a local favorite so I do a lot of research before trips and know where we will eat before we arrive in the town/coungtry. Like the trip to Paris, we had reservations 6 months in advance at Verjus and down in Provence we had reservations months in advance at Le Bistrot du Paradou. ( 57 avenue de la Vallée-des-Baux, Paradou). (One day I will do a post on all my favorite food experiences.)
So, you should really give this recipe a try. You can replace the lobster with shrimp or even shrimp but I have to say the lobster was delicious.
BLAST FROM THE PAST: This recipe for Red Ginger Rice is from a cooking class in Arles, France. Take a look at the 200 year old kitchen we cooked in.
Assemble all your ingredients.
Saute the garlic and shallots.
Stir in the white wine.
Stir in parmesan cheese.
Add in the stemmed spinach.
Add in the lobster.
Scoop the pasta out with a slotted spoon. You want to save about a cup of the pasta water for thinning the sauce if needed.
Lobster Pasta in Tuscan Lemon Cream
Ingredients
- 12 oz pasta — tagliatelle linguine, or fettuccine work best
- 2 cups cooked lobster meat claw and tail, chopped in bite-size pieces
- 3 tbsp butter
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 small shallot finely chopped
- ½ cup dry white wine
- 1 cup heavy cream
- ½ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- Zest of 1 lemon + juice of ½ lemon
- 2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley or chives
- Salt and freshly ground pepper
- Optional: a pinch of crushed red pepper flakes for a little warmth
- Chives for garnish
- 1/2 c. sun-dried tomatoes thinly sliced
- 1 1/2 c. baby spinach leaves
- 2 Tbsp. fresh basil or parsley
Instructions
- For the pasta: Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook pasta until al dente. Reserve ½ cup of pasta water before draining.
- Sauce: In a large skillet, heat the butter and olive oil over medium heat. Add shallot and garlic; sauté until fragrant and translucent (about 2 minutes). Pour in white wine; simmer until reduced by half.
- Add cream and cheese and lower the heat and stir in the heavy cream. Add Parmesan cheese and whisk until melted and smooth. Season with salt, pepper, and optional red pepper flakes. Add lobster and gently fold in the lobster meat; cook 2–3 minutes, just to warm through (don’t overcook or it’ll toughen).
- Add drained pasta to the pan. Toss well, adding reserved pasta water a bit at a time until the sauce lightly coats the noodles. Finish with lemon zest, lemon juice, and parsley.
- Serve immediately
- Garnish with extra Parmesan, cracked pepper, and a drizzle of olive oil or butter if you like.
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