Lobster Fra Diavolo With Spaghettini Recipes

LOBSTER FRA DIAVOLO

Steps:

• If you're going to make the optional lobster broth, sauté the onion, carrot and fennel bulb about 5 minutes over medium-high heat, then add the lobster shells. Crush the shells with a potato masher or somesuch while they cook. Let them cook, stirring often, for about 5 minutes. Add the bay leaves and anise seed and cover with about 1 quart of water. Simmer this about 45 minutes, or until reduced by half. Strain and reserve.
• Get a large pot of water boiling and add enough salt to make it salty. Drop the heat to a simmer and proceed.
• To make the sauce, sauté the onion in the olive oil over medium-high heat until the onion is just starting to brown on the edges, about 6 to 8 minutes. Stir in the garlic and chiles and cook another minute or three.
• Stir in the tomato paste and let that cook for 2 minutes, stirring almost constantly. Pour in the vermouth or white wine and use a wooden spoon to scrape up any browned bits in the pan. Add the remaining ingredients (including the reserved stock), except for the lobster and the fresh basil. Bring to a simmer, taste for salt, and let this simmer 20 minutes.
• Now you want to boil your pasta. It'll be ready when the sauce is now.
• Add the lobster and let this cook about 10 minutes, just until the chunks are cooked through. Stir in the basil or parsley and, if you want, add some lemon. Serve over the pasta.

LOBSTER FRA DIAVOLO WITH SPAGHETTINI

Steps:

• Place the lobsters in the freezer about 30 minutes before beginning this recipe.
• Bring 6 quarts of salted water to a boil in an 8-quart pot over high heat.
• Cut off the lobster legs and claws from the body with a sturdy pair of kitchen shears. Divide the claw at the joint. Whack the claws with a meat mallet just hard enough to crack the shells. (If you wish, to make it easier to remove the meat from the shell after the lobster is cooked, cut along one side of each of the two joints that were attached to the claw.) Lay one of the lobsters on a cutting board with the tail stretched out. Cut the lobster body in half length-wise by taking firm hold of the tail and inserting a heavy, sharp knife where the tail meets the body section. Bring the knife down to the cutting board in a swift motion, cutting the body section cleanly in half. Turn the knife in the other direction and cut the tail in half in the same way. You now have two lobster halves, each of which consists of tail and body pieces. Do not separate the tail from the body. Cut off the antennae and eyes with the shears and scrape out the digestive sac located inside the shell, behind the eyes. Pull out the dark vein that runs along the tail, but leave the tomalley-the pale-green mass close to the tail-intact. (It adds wonderful flavor to the sauce.) Repeat with the remaining lobsters.
• In a wide, heavy skillet, heat 1 cup of the vegetable oil over medium heat. Pat all the lobster pieces dry with paper towels. Dredge the meat side of the lobster halves lightly in flour and add as many of them, cut side down, as fit comfortably to the skillet. Cook until the lobster meat is lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Remove from the pan and repeat with the remaining lobster body pieces, adding more oil to the pan as needed. When all the lobster halves have been browned, add the claws and joints to the pan and cook, turning them with long-handled tongs, until the shells turn bright red on all sides, about 4 minutes. Turn the lobster pieces carefully-they are likely to splatter.
• Heat the olive oil in a wide, deep braising pan large enough to hold all the lobster pieces over medium heat. Whack the garlic cloves with the side of a knife and add them along with the lobster legs to the oil. Cook, shaking the pan, until the garlic is lightly browned, about 3 minutes. Pour in the tomatoes, add the peppers and dried oregano, and season lightly with salt. Bring to a boil and adjust the heat to a lively simmer. Cook 10 minutes.
• Stir in the fresh oregano and tuck all the lobster pieces into the sauce. Cook at a lively simmer just until the lobster meat is cooked through and juicy, about 5 minutes. If the sauce becomes too dense as it simmers, ladle a little of the pasta-cooking water into the pan. Keep the sauce and lobster warm over very low heat.
• Meanwhile, stir the linguine into the boiling water. Cook, stirring frequently, until done, about 6 minutes. Drain the linguine and return it to the pot. Spoon the liquid portion of the lobster sauce over the pasta, leaving just enough sauce behind in the pan to keep the lobster pieces moist. Bring the sauce and pasta to a boil, stirring gently to coat the pasta with sauce. Check the seasoning, adding salt if necessary.
• Divide the linguine among 6 pasta bowls. Top each with a lobster body and claw. Spoon some of the sauce remaining in the pan over each serving, and serve immediately.