Just relax, you were never in control…

What a treat from the freezer once again lobster from the church lobster fest last fall saved for a special occasion🤔, every day is a special occasion, right?  A single dried pepper was the perfect level of heat in my stock and sauce, and another fried to go with the finished spaghetti…I had no real recipe to work from and the sauce is pretty basic with ingredients that you probably have with the exception of the lobster of course.  Frozen lobster tails will do nicely if you have access to them or shrimp if it is easier for you to find.   

There are so many recipes out there, try one if you feel more comfortable with a tried and true version, mine is just what I want it to be, simple…

After thawing and removing the lobster meat from the shells, I started making a really good mellow lobster stock, made from the lobster shells, a few ribs of celery, chopped carrot, a small chunk of onion, bay leaves, dashes of oregano, pinches of Phillips seafood seasoning, a few cloves of unpeeled garlic, a packet of condensed vegetable stock, 6 cups of water, and a fried dried pepper or pepper flakes.  Sauté the shells with everything but the water and stock pod for several minutes and deglaze with 1/4-1/2 cup white wine, reduce for several minutes before tossing in the stock pod and water.  The stock slightly sweetens the finished stock which I strained of solids before adding to the tomatoes.  Simmer stock for at least 1 hour and slightly reduced.  

While the stock simmers away for at least for an hour, start a tomato sauce base…1 tablespoon EVOO, 1/4 cup minced onion, 3 cloves minced garlic, 1-28 ounce can San Marzano whole tomatoes, (strained, but reserve can sauce or juices), salt and pepper to taste.  Season your sauce with a sprinkle of dried basil and oregano or some Italian seasoning if you prefer, but use it sparingly so as not to overwhelm the sauce.  I added about 1 cup of the previously made lobster stock and simmered for about 25 minutes, slightly reducing the sauce’s thickness use more if it is still too thick simmer until you get the sauce as thin as you want but it should still cling to the pasta.

Toss your favorite cooked pasta into the finished sauce, toss and add your prepared lobster meat…served garnished with minced parsley and a pinch of red pepper flakes, or not.  Enjoy along with a fantastic salad and garlic bread or garlic knots.