Lobster Fra Diavolo with Shell-Infused Chili Tomato Sauce

By Sprig Originals ✓ · cooked up in Sprig

Split lobster tails simmered briefly in a fiery tomato sauce built on a quick broth made from the lobster shells themselves. The shells are toasted in olive oil with tomato paste and white wine to pull every bit of sweetness out of them, then that broth becomes the backbone of the sauce — so the pasta tastes as much like lobster as the lobster does. Half the tails go in shell-on for drama, half are shucked into big chunks so every forkful of linguine gets meat.

Ingredients

• 4 lobster tails, 6-8 oz each, thawed if frozen
• 3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 2 cups water
• 1 small shallot, halved
• 2 garlic cloves, smashed
• 1 bay leaf

• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 6 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 1 1/2 tbsp Calabrian chili paste (or 1 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes)
• 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes, plus more to taste
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• 1 28-oz can whole San Marzano tomatoes, crushed by hand
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 1 tsp kosher salt, plus more to taste
• 1/2 tsp sugar (optional, if tomatoes are sharp)
• 2 tbsp unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 10 fresh basil leaves, torn

• 12 oz linguine
• kosher salt, for the pasta water
• 1 lemon, cut into wedges
• crusty bread, for mopping

Instructions

1. Split the tails: place a lobster tail belly-down on a cutting board. Using a heavy chef's knife or kitchen shears, cut straight down the length of the tail through the shell, then all the way through to halve it lengthwise. Repeat with all 4 tails so you have 8 halves. Pull out and discard the dark intestinal vein. Refrigerate 4 halves shell-on (these go in the sauce whole). From the remaining 4 halves, slip the meat out of the shells in one piece, cut each into 3 chunks, and refrigerate; reserve those 4 empty shells for the broth.
2. Make the lobster broth: heat 3 tbsp olive oil in a 3-quart saucepan over medium-high. Add the 4 reserved empty shells and cook 4-5 minutes, pressing them down with a wooden spoon, until they turn deep red-orange and smell sweet and toasty. Stir in the tomato paste and cook 1 minute until it darkens.
3. Add 1/2 cup white wine and simmer 2 minutes, scraping the pan. Add 2 cups water, the shallot, smashed garlic, and bay leaf. Bring to a bare simmer and cook, uncovered, 20-25 minutes until reduced to about 1 cup. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve, pressing hard on the shells to extract everything. Discard solids. You should have roughly 3/4 to 1 cup of intense orange broth.
4. Start the sauce: in a wide 12-inch skillet or braiser, warm 1/4 cup olive oil over medium-low. Add the sliced garlic and cook 2-3 minutes, stirring, until pale gold at the edges — do not let it brown. Stir in the Calabrian chili paste, red pepper flakes, and oregano and cook 30 seconds.
5. Add 1/2 cup white wine, raise the heat to medium-high, and reduce by half, about 2 minutes. Add the hand-crushed tomatoes with their juice, the strained lobster broth, 1 tsp salt, and the sugar if using. Simmer briskly for 18-22 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the sauce is glossy and thick enough to coat a spoon. Taste and add more chili flakes for heat.
6. Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil (about 1 tbsp salt per 4 quarts). Add the linguine and cook 2 minutes short of package al dente. Reserve 1 1/2 cups pasta water before draining.
7. Cook the lobster: nestle the 4 shell-on tail halves into the simmering sauce, cut side down, spooning sauce over the exposed meat. Cover and cook 4 minutes over medium. Add the reserved lobster chunks, cover, and cook 2-3 minutes more, until the meat is opaque and firm-springy throughout (145°F at the thickest point). Transfer the shell-on halves to a plate; leave the chunks in the sauce.
8. Add the drained pasta and 1/2 cup pasta water to the skillet along with the butter. Toss over medium heat for 1-2 minutes until the sauce clings and the pasta finishes cooking, adding more pasta water a splash at a time if it tightens. Kill the heat and fold in the parsley and most of the basil.
9. Twirl the pasta into four warm bowls, top each with a shell-on lobster half, and spoon extra sauce and chunks over the top. Scatter with the remaining basil and serve immediately with lemon wedges and crusty bread.

Chef's tips

Nutrition (per serving, estimated)

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