Linguine all’Aragosta and Spanish Style Crostini – Bringing Spain and Italy Together

Linguine all’Aragosta is a signature dish from my mother’s kitchen that is very easy to make despite it’s fancy title. In fact, there are just a few ingredients needed and the most difficult part of the dish is determining whether you want to cook the lobster yourself or pick one up that has already been steamed. This recipe consists of garlic, shallot, and parsley and while you can make it richer with cream and/or sherry, I prefer the simplicity of my mother’s take on this Italian masterpiece. To go with this I’ve also prepared some Spanish style crostini with artichoke, mushroom, goat cheese, and arugula that serve as a tasty appetizer to wet your palate before the lobster pasta is ready. The crostini is also fairly simple and straightforward with the choice to either boil your artichoke before hand or, do what I do, and buy the marinated jarred artichoke. It’s a great combination of Italy meets Spain in this edition of Paggi Pazzo.

For the Linguine all’Aragosta it’s important to remove all the lobster meat from the shells and clean the not so attractive intestines and green juices (unless you really like that stuff). Then chop all of the ingredients finely and add to a large pan with olive oil. Add the crushed tomatoes and lobster meat to the pan and slow cook the sauce for about 25-30 minutes (it’s important not to cook the sauce at a high temperature because you don’t want to make the lobster meat tough – keep it tender, and keep it classy). The crostini recipe is something that I’ve come across at almost every Tapas restaurant I venture to. My favorite one, Dali, makes a fantastic artichoke, mushroom, and goat cheese tapas that just melts in your mouth. My rendition is a little bit different because I don’t go as heavy with the mushrooms and I add arugula, which compliments the goat cheese so nicely (try adding goat cheese, arugula, tomato, and red onion to a baguette and you’ll see what I mean). I chop the artichoke and mushroom into small little chunks and add it to a pan with olive oil, salt and pepper. I saute it for about 8-10 minutes on medium heat and I’m careful not to add too much artichoke juice from the marinated jar because it will overwhelm the other flavors. After that, it’s as simple as slicing a baguette or ciabatta at a wide angle to create the crostini look and then toasting. Quick and easy and pretty tasty to boot, for both recipes! But whatever you do, the only request I make – is – DO NOT, under any circumstances…..add grated cheese to your Linguine all’Aragosta! Don’t do it, it’s a sin – and the pasta police will find you, trust me on that one.

As always, I’m going to suggest a red wine for this meal and you really can’t go wrong with a Spanish Rioja or Chilean Carménère. One Rioja in particular, the Conde de Valdemar, is an absolutely delicious wine under $15 and is really fantastic! A good friend of mine whose father was from Spain introduced this wine to me and I’ve been drinking it ever since. The Carménère is a staple of Chile and is excellent with fish (sea bass anyone?), so you can’t go wrong with either. So there it is, Linguine all’Aragosta recipe with Spanish style artichoke, mushroom, goat cheese, and arugula crostini from the countries that have won the last 2 World Cups and of course, from yours truly, Paggi Pazzo.

Linguine all’Aragosta Recipe

Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 50 min
Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

• 8 ounces crushed tomatoes (San Marzano)
• 1/2 pound linguine (Barilla)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1 shallot
• 1 (1.25-1.5 lbs.) lobster
• 1/2 cup fresh parsley

Cooking Directions

1. Buy lobster already steamed or boil pot of water and add lobster for 12-15 minutes.
2. Once lobster is cooked, remove lobster meat from shells and pull apart into smaller pieces and place in a bowl.
3. Chop finely garlic, shallots, and fresh parsley.
4. In a large pan, add olive oil, shallot, garlic, and parsley and cook at medium-to-high temperature for 5-7 minutes.
5. Add crushed tomatoes and lobster meat to pan, lower heat to slow cook and cover with lid for 25-30 minutes.
6. Add pot to stove for the pasta, when water is boiling add linguine and let cook for 7-8 minutes or until al dente.
7. Drain pasta and add linguine to pan.
8. Mix and stir for 2 minutes and then serve.