We decided to get a couple out of the freezer at the weekend with a view to a lobster night this evening, Sam's in as well and he's up for a bit of spicy grub so I'm doing my version of aragosta del diavolo (Devil's Lobster).
I started things off earlier today by making the lobster sauce that I will add to the tomato base later. First off I cut the two defrosted lobsters in half and took out the meat from the tails and claws. This was cling filmed and bunged in the fridge. I broke up the shells into a bowl and turned my attention to the hob. In a large pan I softened one sliced onion in about 50g of butter. I then added a tablespoon of tomato puree and cooked it all out for a minute or so. Into the pan then went the lobster shells, 500g of fish stock and a glass of white wine. Once this was warmed through I added a good lug of brandy and flambeed it to get rid of the alcohol. Everything was brought to the boil and then the pan was covered and left to simmer for about 30 minutes.
It was all left to cool for a bit and then I used a food processor to blitz the whole lot up; shells and all. This was then passed through a sieve to leave an unctuously rich lobster sauce which I will use to boost the diavolo base later.
At this stage you could just add the chopped up lobster meat, season and simply serve stirred through some spaghetti, linguine or even tagliatelle - the choice is yours and it makes a great light supper as the sauce can be made during the day or the day before and simply reheated with the lobster meat in it.
But now to the main event!
I like to batch cook sauces as it makes great economic sense and also is a great labour saver if you're a bit pushed for time or fancy a night off cooking and just want to eat from the freezer. Freezing stuff isn't cheating - its all still home cooked from scratch and I know exactly what's gone into anything I make! This quantity of sauce will serve 6-8 people so I will take out what I need for us and then freeze the rest.
In a large pan I softened four big fat finely chopped cloves of garlic, a couple of teaspoons of chilli flakes and a teaspoon of dried oregano in about six tablespoons of olive oil. I then added a tablespoonful of tomato puree and cooked it out for a minute or so. Into this then went a couple of shot glasses of brandy and the whole lot was cooked until the alcohol had evaporated which took a couple of minutes or so. Lastly, in went a can of chopped peeled cherry tomatoes, a couple of bay leaves and the tomato can full of water. The water will cook out and leave a lovely thick sauce.
The whole lot was brought to the boil, covered and then left to simmer on a low heat for 30/40 minutes.
I used cherry tomatoes because I think they add a sweetness which complements the lobster and work well with the robust heat of the chilli flakes but a simple can of chopped or plum tomatoes is just as good. I make no bones about it, though...this is a fiery dish and not for the feint-hearted! If it's too hot for you when you do a final taste before serving just run a little cream through the sauce before it's stirred through the pasta.
After half and hour I added the pre-made lobster sauce to the pan and carried on with the slow simmer. At this stage I also put a pan of salted water on to boil for the pasta. I'm using linguine this evening because the slightly thicker, flatter surface takes up the sauce really well but the choice is yours...the pasta rules are only hard and fast if you're Italian!
In ten minutes or so the two sauces were heating up nicely and thickening well so I decanted half off into another pan and set the remainder aside to cool down prior to freezing. I then added the chopped up lobster meat and 300g of cooked prawns. A few minutes cooking to heat the shellfish through and then I drained off the pasta and stirred it through the diavolo sauce until it was well and truly coated. Into bowls with a garnish of chopped parsley and we were good to go. Chunks of crusty bread on the side and job's a good'n!
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