Spaghetti all'Aragosta #QBCucina

I recently joined the Quanto Basta Italian Cookbook Club. and the first book I received was Via Carota by Jody Williams and Rita Sodi with Anna Kovel. I will write more definitive thoughts about this book after I try several more recipes. This was my offering for the second week's assignment - ROC (recipe of choice) from the Summer section.

When I perused the Summer section this lobster spaghetti looked like a delicious, but simple recipe. I could only find lobster tails; this bowl would look much more dramatic with the claws and antennae. But this was perfect for a mid-week patio dinner.

Ingredients

serves 3

• three 4-ounce lobster tails

• 3 Tablespoons olive oil plus more for serving

• 3 to 4 large garlic cloves, peeled and crushed

• 1/2 teaspoon dried chile flakes

• 1 pound organic tomatoes (I used a mixture of heirloom tomatoes, cubed, and mini heirloom tomatoes, halved)

• a handful of fresh basil leaves

• gluten-free spaghetti

Procedure

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Using kitchen shears, cut each lobster tail down the back, stopping at the last segment before the tail piece. Bend back the tail until you hear a loud crack. Slip a knife between the meat and the bottom membrane, freeing tail meat from the shell. Pull the meat up and over the shell, closing the shell shut beneath it. The tail meat, then, piggybacks on top of the shell.

Coat the lobster meat with a generous coating of oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake for 1-2 minutes per ounce of weight, if fresh. It might take longer if the tail is frozen.

Add olive oil in a large skillet followed by the garlic and chile flakes. Book until the garlic is fragrant, but not browned. If the garlic burns it will become bitter. Add the tomatoes to the pan. When they begin to blister, shake the pan to keep them from sticking.

In the meantime, cook pasta according to package direction. I used a gluten-free pasta so Jake could enjoy this with us. Drain, but reserve 1 cup of the pasta cooking water. Add the cooked pasta to the tomato sauce. Fold in the basil leaves. Stir to coat completely.

To serve, place the pasta in individual serving bowls. Top with a cooked lobster tail. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

That's a wrap on my offering for the second week of #qbcookbookclub. Can't wait to move to the Autumn recipes this week. Stay tuned!