Lobster Pasta With Yellow Tomatoes and Basil

By David Tanis

Lobster Pasta With Yellow Tomatoes and Basil
Fred R. Conrad/The New York Times
Total Time
1 hour
Rating
5(1,300)
Comments
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This is an uncomplicated dish for warm weather and sunny days. Olive oil, garlic, hot pepper, barely warmed tomatoes and tons of fresh basil are the only ingredients besides lobster and dried pasta, preferably a variety with a bit of texture, like frilly edged reginette, cooked perfectly al dente. The only real work is cooking the lobsters and chopping the meat. Once that’s done, go out and enjoy the sunshine while it lasts.

Featured in: The Time Is Right for Lobster

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Ingredients

Yield:4 to 6 servings
  • 4lobsters, 1¼ pounds each, or 1 pound cooked lobster meat
  • 1pound sturdy pasta, like mafaldine, reginetti, lasagnetti, long ziti, macaroni, bucatini or rigatoncini
  • 4tablespoons olive oil
  • 2large shallots, finely diced
  • 4garlic cloves, minced
  • ½teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • 2cups chopped yellow tomato or halved yellow cherry tomatoes
  • Salt and pepper
  • 2handfuls basil leaves, torn or roughly chopped
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)

688 calories; 13 grams fat; 2 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 8 grams monounsaturated fat; 3 grams polyunsaturated fat; 65 grams carbohydrates; 4 grams dietary fiber; 6 grams sugars; 74 grams protein; 1611 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    If using whole lobsters, cook them in abundant boiling water for 6 minutes. Cool, remove meat from tail, claws and knuckles, and chop into ½-inch chunks.

  2. Step 2

    Bring a pot of well-salted water to a boil and cook pasta.

  3. Step 3

    Meanwhile, pour olive oil in a wide skillet over medium-high heat. Add shallots and cook for 1 minute, without browning. Add garlic and red pepper and cook for 1 minute. Add tomatoes and season generously with salt and pepper. Add lobster meat, stir to coat, cook 1 minute, then turn off heat until pasta is ready.

  4. Step 4

    When pasta is al dente, drain, add to skillet, and season with salt and pepper. Toss well and transfer to a warmed wide bowl or platter. Add basil, toss once more and serve immediately.

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Ratings

5 out of 5
1,300 user ratings
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Comments

Maui Maggie

Lovely and simple as is. However, you can significantly up the wow factor by making a broth with the lobster shells (shells, onion, celery carrot), straining and reducing it. Add a brandy, cream and a touch of tarragon. Then finish the pasta in it along with the other ingredients in Step 4. Always a winner in my house and not much more work than the simple version here.

Clyde

Works equally well with shrimp...

Angela

Guests raved about this dish - with these modifications: - roasted tomatoes in the oven at 300 for 20 min. - made a lobster stock using the shells, onion, peppercorn and fennel fronds. Reduced to one cup. - used lobster tails, cut into chunks and then sautéed in butter with a sprinkle of seafood seasoning. Added cooking liquid to stock. - after cooking garlic and shallots in oil, added a 1/2 c of white wine and reduced, then added in the stock. - Next added pasta, lobster, tomatoes and basil.

Stanley

Great dish. We live in Maine and tire of serving traditional steamed lobster (though out of state guests never tire of the spectacle)or buttered lobster roll. This dish is simple and fresh bringing out the subtlety of the lobster flavor while leveraging summer produce. I am amused by the other comments where most wish to turn the dish into lobster scampi or a thermidor. If it’s too dry for your taste, add some pasta water or cook the tomatoes a little longer. But otherwise it’s marvelous as is.

B

I loved this recipe and I have one tip: if you live in a state where you can order your lobsters steamed from the grocery store for free - do this to save time!! No lobster size pot needed! I ordered my steamed lobsters from the fish counter, went grocery shopping for ingredients, picked up my lobsters and drove home. Picking apart the lobster without the hassle of having to boil them myself was a dream. If you do not have metal lobster crackers to open your lobster (like me haha), you can use a metal meat tenderizer or even a towel and a hammer if you need to get a stubborn claw open. Use a butter knife or fork to get the meat out of hard to reach knuckles.

Kim from Santa Monica

Tarragon works really well instead of basil if you can find it. Someone suggested adding ½ cup white wine to the shallot/onion saute step and reducing, which adds a nice flavor, as does, alternately, a splash of sherry or cognac. Great pasta dish for company or when you are treating yourself!

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