Creamy Garlic Lobster Pasta. An easy but indulgent seafood dinner using simple, delicious ingredients. Perfect for dinner partiers or date night!
Hello folks! It’s peak summer here in Ochre Pit Cove. We’ve been lucky with the seafood harvest this year and have been incredible happy to support our local fishermen and fisherwomen. Among the bounty: lots of fresh lobster.
One of my favourite ways to enjoy seafood is in a great pasta dish. When done well, it can truly be one of the most luxurious meals out there. This lobster pasta is no exception… despite how easy it is to make!
Technique and toppings.
Like any great pasta dish, great results come from just a handful of simple techniques. The more pasta you make, the better your instincts become. Some tricks I use in this recipe include:
- Salting your pasta water very well. The pasta itself should be seasoned, too!
- Draining the pasta as soon as it reaches al dente. It will finish cooking in the sauce.
- Reserving pasta water to loosen and emulsify your sauce.
I am also of the firm belief that a great pasta deserves great toppings. When I worked at The Merchant Tavern at St. John’s, I adored their various homemade pasta dishes, and nearly all of them were topped with crunchy, toasted, buttery breadcrumbs. In this recipe I’ve used sourdough crumbs, which added incredible texture and depth to the dish. It’s also topped with parmesan cheese and parsley and lemon for freshness.
On cooking and freezing lobster:
Be sure to check out the “Notes” section after the recipe to learn how we cook lobster to freeze. I’ve included instructions for par-cooking and brining to preserve the lobster’s flavour and texture. The lobster I used to create this pasta dish came from a catch that I had frozen in brine. It came out perfectly.
Let us know what you think about this pasta dish! It’s a great dinner idea for when you want something special. Bon appetit!
You may also want to check out our recipe for Creamy Garlic Scallop Spaghetti with Bacon:
Like this Creamy Garlic Lobster Pasta Recipe?
If you’re looking for more great ideas like this, check out this collection of 20 of Our Favourite Seafood Dinners. You can also view our Fish and Seafood Category.
It’s easy to keep up with the latest home style cooking & baking ideas from Rock Recipes. Be sure to follow Rock Recipes Facebook Page and follow us on Instagram.
Plus you’ll see daily recipe suggestions from decadent desserts to quick delicious weekday meals too.
You can also sign up for our FREE newsletter to know immediately when we add new recipes. You’ll also get weekly suggestions for great family friendly meals and desserts too!
Rock Recipes a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. Our product recommendations are almost exclusively for those we currently use or have used in the past.
Creamy Garlic Lobster Pasta
Creamy Garlic Lobster Pasta. An easy but indulgent seafood dinner using simple, delicious ingredients. Perfect for dinner partiers or date night!
Ingredients
- 1 lobster, cooked and shelled (about 6 oz of meat)
- 225 g spaghetti, fettuccine, or other long pasta (half of a standard 1 pound box)
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
- 2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
- 1/4 cup white wine
- 1/4 cup cream
- 1/2 tsp red chili flakes
- Black pepper to taste
- 1/2 cup grated parmesan
- 1 tbsp cold butter
- Splash of reserved pasta water
Toppings:
- 1/2 cup breadcrumbs (I used sourdough)
- 2 tbsp butter
- Italian parsley, chopped
- Sprinkle of grated parmesan
- Lemon wedges
- Crack of black pepper
Instructions
To prepare the toasted breadcrumbs:
- In a saucepan over medium-low heat, melt 2 tbsp of butter to the pan until bubbly. Add the breadcrumbs and toast until golden brown and crunchy. Set the finished crumbs aside until plating.
To prepare the pasta:
- Chop the lobster meat into bite-sized pieces, but leave the claws intact. Set aside.
- In a saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium-low heat and add your halved cherry tomatoes. Cook for 3-5 minutes, stirring often until jammy.
- Meanwhile, bring a pot of well-salted water to a boil. Add your pasta and cook until al dente, about 6-7 minutes. It's important to ensure it still has some good bite, as it will finish cooking in the sauce.
- Add the garlic to the jammy tomatoes and cook for another 30 seconds.
- Deglaze the tomatoes and garlic with a good splash of white wine (about 1/4 cup). Let cook for one minute before stirring in the cream, chili flakes and black pepper. Let thicken for another minute or two. Stir in the parmesan cheese.
- Add the chopped lobster pieces to the sauce and let the meat heat through, another minute or two.
- Reserve a cup of pasta water and set aside. Drain the pasta and add to the sauce with a splash of the pasta water.
- Gently toss until the sauce begins to coat the pasta. Be gentle so as not to break up the lobster.
- Add splashes of pasta water as necessary to loosen and emulsify the sauce (you won't need the full reserved cup.) At the very end, stir through the tablespoon of cold butter.
- Serve the pasta and top with the crunchy breadcrumbs, extra parmesan cheese, a sprinkle of chopped parsley, a crack of black pepper and a lemon wedge.
Notes
Instructions for cooking a 1.5 pound lobster:
- Add lobster to boiling water and cook for about 8 minutes, until just underdone. This will allow the lobster to finish cooking in the pasta sauce and not get rubbery.
- Plunge the lobster an ice bath after boiling. This will make it easier to remove from the shell.
- Shell the lobster and set the meat aside. Here is a good video tutorial from Gordon Ramsay.
If you wish to freeze lobster meat to use later:
- Follow the steps above. Slightly undercooking the lobster is also the correct way to freeze it.
- Prepare a brine. For every 1 litre of water, dissolve 2 g of sugar and 3 g of salt.
- Add desired portions of lobster meat to a freezer bag and pour brine to cover. Arrange bags upright in the freezer to solidify.
- Simply thaw the brine bags and remove the meat when you wish to use it. Be sure to finish the cooking process for the thawed lobster, remembering it isn't fully done.
Nutrition Information
Yield
2Serving Size
1Amount Per Serving Calories 876Total Fat 29gSaturated Fat 16gTrans Fat 1gUnsaturated Fat 10gCholesterol 111mgSodium 866mgCarbohydrates 111gFiber 8gSugar 8gProtein 39g
The nutritional information provided is automatically calculated by third party software and is meant as a guideline only. Exact accuracy is not guaranteed. For recipes where all ingredients may not be used entirely, such as those with coatings on meats, or with sauces or dressings for example, calorie & nutritional values per serving will likely be somewhat lower than indicated.