California Girl Cooks

If I had to come up with the ultimate decadent main course dish, it would most likely include Pasta and Lobster. The following gem of a recipe also happens to include vodka and red wine. Decadent, anyone?

This main course pasta packs a punch of spicy flavor in between bites of collosal lumps of lobster. The recipe was inspired by a trip to a local grocer where I found a pretty decent deal ($9.99/lb) on some mega lobster claws. I couldn't resist, and ended up walking out with 2 lbs worth. Since they were pre-frozen and not whole tails, I knew that I wanted to serve them in a pasta. This sauce is one that I've been perfecting for a while. I add both vodka and red wine to it. While the boozes are optional (usually omit the vodka), they give the sauce a really intense, rich flavor, and a prominent sense of depth.

The hardest part of this recipe (by far) was cracking these colossal claws - they were like porcelain! The easiest part was preparing the surprisingly simple sauce. Even if you don't have any lobster in your fridge, I highly recommend making this sauce instead of opening a jar of processed red sauce next time you serve your family their favorite pasta dish.

PASTA WITH LOBSTER IN A SPICY TOMATO CREAM SAUCE

Frozen Lobster Claws (about 0.5 lbs per person)

Crushed Tomatoes (28 oz. can)

Heavy Whipping Cream (a few Tbs.)

Pasta

Garlic (3 cloves)

Red Pepper Flakes

Vodka

Salt & Pepper

Olive Oil

Red Wine (optional)

Italian Parsley (for serving)

Tools: Crab Claw Cracker and a Immersion Blender

Most of the ingredients....

Pour in a few teaspoons of olive oil to a medium-sized sauce pan. Heat to medium.

While the oil is heating up, mince some garlic.

Minced garlic.

Add minced garlic to hot oil (and try not to get distracted and burn it like I did!)

When the garlic is golden brown and fragrant, add the can of crushed tomatoes.

Also add a teaspoon of crushed red peppers. You can always add more later if it is not spicy enough for your liking. Bring the sauce to a boil and then reduce to a simmer, stirring occasionally, for 30 minutes to an hour.

Alright, now on to the dirty work! Here is just an image of the packaging on the lobster I bought.

Here are the beautiful claws, still banded.

Remove bands and get to work! These claws were jam-packed with sweet meat. Please excuse my busted manicure!

When you are done cracking, you should have a pile of meat like this. Yum!

After you are done cracking the claws, bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta of your liking. I went with Trottole, a large spiral pasta that was perfect for soaking up the sauce.

Cook until al dente.

Alright, now that my sauce has been simmering for almost an hour, it's time to blend it into a smooth sauce. If you like chunkier sauces, then omit this step.

Using an immersion blender, blend until it smooth enough for your liking.

Next, add the heavy whipping cream. Even though all I added was a few tablespoons, it adds a phenomenal amount of richness, and also gives the sauce a slightly pink appearance.