Linguine Monograno Felicetti "IL CAPPELLI" with lobster

Difficulty:
Medium

Italian language distinguishes between proper lobsters and spiny lobsters. What we call "aragosta" (i.e. spiny lobster) has no claws, softer meat and a more delicate aroma, while the common lobster translates into "astice". The famous “lobster” in David Foster Wallace’s masterpiece “Consider the lobster” should have been in facts translated into “Considera l’astice”; they preferred “Considera l'aragosta” because of the alliteration. Astice is a clawed lobster slightly bigger and yet less expensive than aragosta, and mostly originates from North America. We are going to prefer the common lobster for our New Year’s Eve special recipe, choosing a shortly pre-cooked and subsequently frozen lobster for the sake of convenience, but of course we’re aware that a fresh one would offer better sensations.

After defrosting our lobster we patiently begin our preparation, separating the head from the tail by twisting them in opposite directions. Snap the claws while keeping claw and pinchers whole, and extract their pulp with the help of lobster tongs and a pick to make sure you’re keeping al the delicious pulp inside them. Also extract the head’s pulp with the help of a strong blade, then split the tail in half and carefully peel the shell away, yet keeping all the fragments in a bowl. We will need them to make a delicious gravy.

In a saucepan heat olive oil with one garlic glove and the green part of a leek: when hot, add the shell parts and flambè with a cup of gin. We shall now add a few small yellow tomatoes and let cook over medium heat for about half an hour. When ready, carefully press the gray with a spoon, before carefully straining the delicious broth: keep it aside, without washing the pan we just used.

Now it’s time to boil our linguine Monograno Felicetti very al dente, drain and pour them into the very same pan we cooked our gravy in: we add a sip of olive oil and a cup of our broth, and complete the cooking, stirring carefully until ready.

Serve each portion along with part of the pulp and decorate with one of the claws on top of the dish. Sprinkle with chopped green leek leaves and enjoy!

INGREDIENTS (4 TO 6 SERVINGS)

1 pack of Linguine Monograno Felicetti “IL CAPPELLI"

4 lobsters

a handful yellow small tomatoes

1 glass of gin

one garlic clove

oil, salt

the green part of one leek.