Spicy Lobster Spaghetti is what you might call the American cousin to Lobster Fra Diavolo. That assumes that Lobster Fra Diavolo (devilish brother) is indeed an authentic Italian pasta dish. That seems to be debatable. I will say the idea of Lobster Spaghetti seems more like an East Coast, first-generation Italian-American version of the spicy seafood and tomato sauced pastas that have roots along Italy's Amalfi coast. But I'm not here to discuss semantics. I'm in the mood for lobster. The idea of a big messy plate of Lobster Spaghetti appeals to me more than the difficult to pronounce Fra Diavolo.
Speaking of messes – at its very best lobster can be messy too. In fact it's often served with a bib. Still (ironically), lobster is usually reserved for white tablecloth celebrations. We pull out the bone china, the sterling silver lobster forks, and get the butter melting for an impressive, but thoroughly predictable presentation.
Well, I've got something messier in mind.
[post id="23034" name="La Caudrina "La Selvatica" Asti" ]
Lobster Spaghetti
My version of Lobster Spaghetti is made spicy with habanero and is garnished with an unexpected fistful of fresh mint. It's inspired by Dave Pasternack, the chef and owner of Esca in New York City. However mine is messier. Pasternack chops a whole lobster into 8 pieces, but I prefer to keep the lobster tails whole and let the diner break the shells open with their hands before twirling the lobster hunks into forkfuls of spicy noodles.
Which leaves diners with a dilemma. How much mess do they want to endure?
There are two ways to eat messy spaghetti. Both of them make rational adults feel like boisterous children (which is why spaghetti is considered fun food). First there's the Italian Grandpa method of holding a fork in one hand, a spoon in the other, and twirling the pasta into a little ball that can be slipped into your mouth. I call this the "Sunday Supper" style because it helps control the mess a big a pile of noodles promises. The other way to eat spaghetti is to simply get in there face-first and suck down some sauce and slurp up some noodles. I think this is the preferred method for Lobster Spaghetti. Once you've got your face in the plate, it just makes sense to crack open a lobster tail with both hands. Go ahead and use your fingers to coax the sweet meat from the shell. You may as well lick the spicy red sauce from your fingers – because nobody's watching. They've got a big (messy) plate of Lobster Spaghetti in front of them too. GREG
I used local spiny lobsters for this recipe. Maine lobsters will get more red in cooking.
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