David Lentz’s lobster pasta with winter squash, spigarello, mustard greens & rustic bread crumbs
serves 4-6
Ingredients
1# dry egg tagliatelle
12 oz lobster meat (knuckle & claw or tail meat)
1 med winter squash (peeled, seeded & quartered)
4 bunch spigarello cooked (see recipe to braise)
1-2 heads mustard greens
1 pint lobster or shellfish stock
1 C rustic bread crumbs (sourdough or rustic white bread)
1 onion (sliced)
6 cloves garlic (minced)
1 small sprig rosemary
1 T picked thyme leaves
1 ground chile d arbol + 1 T ground chili d or chili flakes
1/3 sherry
evoo
butter
5 & p
Steps
If using whole lobsters, blanch them for 8 min. in boiling salted water. Shock in ice water & remove meat. Save shells for stock. Cut squash in half & then cut in ½ inch slices, toss squash in a bowl w/ evoo, s & p. heat a cast iron pan and add olive oil. Get a nice sear on each side of the squash, if not soft cook in oven at 375 until you are able to easily puncture with a knife. When squash is cooked, set aside. Heat a pan and add evoo, rosemary, onion, garlic and 1 ground chili d arbol. Cook on med until veg is translucent. Add the thyme leaves & cooked squash. Drop pasta in boiling salted water. Deglaze pan w/ sherry, reduce until almost dry. Add lobster stock. Add lobster & spigarello. Season. Add 2 T butter…..reduce stock until it thickens up. Add the pasta. Toss pan or mix w/ tongs. Check for seasoning. Add sliced mustard greens (taste mustard greens to check on the spiciness. Wilt greens. Toss w/ evoo & serve. Garnish the top w/ rustic bread crumbs (remove crust break apart small chunks of bread, toss w/ evoo, s & p. toast in a 375 degree oven until golden brown) & ground chili d. serve.
Braised spigarello
Ingredients
4 bunch spigarello
1 small onion (sliced)
3 cloves garlic thinly sliced
½ sprig rosemary
½ crushed chili d arbol
evoo
S & P
Steps
in a heavy gage pot, heat evoo & add rosemary, chili, onion & garlic. Cook until translucent on med. Heat. Add spigarello (remove any thick stems). Season as you go along & continue to add olive oil ( the greens will soak it up). Cook until tender. Set aside.
lobster/ shellfish stock
Ingredients
12 oz lobster, crab or shrimp shells
1 ½ C canned tomatoes
½ C carrots
½ C onion
½ C celery
½ bunch of tarragon
1/3 C cognac or sherry
10 C water
Steps
in a heavy gage pot, heat evoo until its almost smoking. Add lobster shells. Add vegetables & herbs (if it gets dry, add more oil)…..cook veg until its tender. Deglaze w/ cognac and reduce until dry. Add water & bring up to a boil & turn down to a light simmer. Let cook for at least 1.5 hours. Strain & use. I like to really reduce my shellfish stock to bring out the flavor…..you can reduce as much as you want, simply keep adding water to it until you get your desired flavor.
