Lobster Linguine

By Rob Beaumont

Ingredients

• 100g Cubed Pancetta (guanciale is best) or bacon
• 10 -12 Finely diced shallots
• 2 Finely diced leeks
• 2 Finely diced sticks celery
• 3 Finely diced garlic cloves
• 6 – 8 Minced sun-dried tomatoes
• 100g Tomato purée 
• 6 – 8 Skinned plum tomatoes deseeded and diced
• 1/2 Tsp Cayenne pepper 
• 4 – 6 White peppercorns
• Parsley stalks & bay leaves 
• 1-3 Lobsters dependent on size.
• 100ml Brandy
• 75ml Pernod
• 150ml White Wine
• Lemon juice
• Salt and Pepper
• Tarragon

1. Locate the cross-shaped indentation on the back of the shell and stick a sharp knife in right through the carapace. Twist off the tails, claws and legs and drop them into boiling water for 15 seconds, no more. Lift out the pieces and plunge them into iced water until the shells feel cold. This helps the membrane separate the meat from the shell and makes it easier to get nice tidy flesh out unharmed. Use a rolling pin or hammer  to smash the claws to get at the flesh. Set on a plate, cover and chill.

2. Keep the shells and scrub them using a scourer, cleaning off any dirt. In your biggest frying pan heat a little olive oil and fry the shells for longer than you think. Longer than that. Longer, still. You need good colour and it takes a minimum of 10 minutes (glass of wine?).  In goes a big glug of brandy. Flame (do be careful). Once it dies down, add half a glass of dry white wine and cook until reduced by half. Cover with cold water, chuck in a bay leaf or two (parsley stalks and black peppercorns if you’re feeling clever) and bring to the boil. Once boiling, turn down the heat and cook for a maximum of 20 mins on a gentle boil, not too vigorously. Pass through a sieve to remove the shell and set into a pan to reduce by half. This takes a while. Once you’re done you’ll have about 500ml/750ml. It should be a good golden colour. Set aside. 

3. In a new pan, preferably heavy-bottomed, make a sofrito using as many of the following as you can get your lobstery hands on:
   – Cubed Pancetta (guanciale is best) or bacon 
   – Finely diced shallots, leeks, celery & garlic
   – Minced sun-dried tomatoes
   – Tomato purée 
   – Skinned plum tomatoes deseeded and diced
   – Cayenne pepper 
   – White peppercorns
   – Parsley stalks & bay leaves

Cook it on a gentle heat setting for as long as you’ve got…the longer the better. lid on, stir gently now and then. Mine went for 2 hours. If you’re feeling smug, whizz half of it in a processor to give it a bit more ‘play’ on the pasta. Once you’re happy, add in your reduced stock and reduce further until it all tastes good enough. You’re almost there so it needs to taste good now. If it’s not strong enough, reduce further. Once you’re happy, add some lemon juice and season with salt and pepper, as you have been doing throughout.

4. For the pasta, bring a pan of water to the boil. Dice your lobster meat into nice olive-sized lumps but certainly not too small. Once the pasta is 2 minutes away from being cooked, in another pan, sauté the lobster flesh in a little olive oil and/or butter, adding your tomato sauce to the frying pan ladle at a time until it’s all in. Likewise, once the pasta is cooked and drained, it too goes into the sauce and flesh pot, stirring to coat. The Italian’s are quite adamant about this: pasta goes into the saucepan. NOT the other way round. A little salt and white pepper to season, before putting on the lid and resting for 2 minutes. This helps the sauce get ‘taken up’ by the pasta. A final toss in the pan and sprinkle with a little freshly chopped tarragon.

Serve in a bowl and enjoy with a glass of ice-cold dry white wine straight out the galley freezer – standard on all Kraken Yachts.