Today’s National Lobster Day and in its honor, I’m sharing a delectable lobster pasta recipe from a local New Jersey restaurant serving that appetizing dish.

Saffron Rigatoni with Lobster Coral Butter

Courtesy of Chef Seadon Shouse of Halifax, Hoboken

Main ingredients:

• 3, 1 1/4 pounds lobsters
• ½ pound royal trumpet mushrooms, thinly sliced
• 1 Tbsp. flat leaf parsley
• 1 lemon
• ½ cup onions, small diced
• 1 ½ cups lobster stock
• 1 tsp. sea salt
• ½ tsp. black pepper

Saffron pasta dough ingredients:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 egg
• 4 Tbsp. boiling water
• Pinch saffron

Lobster coral butter ingredients:

• 1 pound Lobster Bodies, cleaned
• 2 pound unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 ounce Fresh Lobster Coral (roe, not cooked), pureed

Directions:

For the Lobster

1. Place a large pot of water on the stove to boil. Salt the water as if it was ocean water.
2. Place the live lobsters in the water and boil for 7 minutes.
3. Remove the lobster and shock in ice water.
4. Once cool, clean the meat out of the shells and cut into a large dice.

For the Lobster Coral Butter

1. Melt 1lb of the butter in a medium sized pan and cook the lobster bodies in it on medium to low heat. You don’t want to brown or clarify the butter. You want it to still have the milk solids in it and be creamy. Cook for 30 minutes stirring often. Remove from heat and strain through a small holed china cap, making sure to extract all of the butter and lobster flavor out of the bodies. Cool the lobster flavored butter until solid.
2. Combine the lobster butter with the remaining 1lb of butter and the lobster coral in the bowl of a mixer.
3. Using the whisk attachment, whip the butter together until fluffy and smooth.

You will have more Lobster Coral Butter than you need for this recipe, but it freezes well.

For the Saffron Pasta

1. Combine the boiling water with the saffron and let sit until it reached room temperature.
2. Combine the egg with the saffron water.
3. Place flour in a food processor and slowly add in the egg and water mixture until it is all combined.
4. Remove and knead by hand until smooth and let rest, refrigerated and at least an hour before making pasta.

When making the pasta you can make any shaped pasta you like. I like rigatoni for this recipe so I make rigatoni with a pasta extruder.

To Finish the Dish

1. Place a pot of salted water on the stove to come to a boil.
2. While the water is heating up start to sweat the onions in a large skillet with a little olive oil.
3. Once half way cooked add in the trumpet mushrooms and cook until golden brown.
4. Add in the lobster stock and let reduce slightly.
5. While stock is boiling, add in 4Tb of the Lobster Coral Butter, juice of half the lemon and some chopped parsley.
6. Once the water is boiling start cooking the pasta. Cook until desired doneness, remove promptly and add to the skillet.
7. Cook in the skillet for a minute so the pasta absorbs the sauce and then add in the diced lobster meat at the very end so you do not overcook the lobster.
8. Season with salt and pepper and serve.

Serves 4.

Cheers,

Veronique