Our first year anniversary is coming up (June 1st!), so perhaps that is conjuring themes of romance and memories of our honeymoon.

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One of the best moments of our honeymoon had to be sitting at Sunset Taverna, dining by the bay (three feet from it) in Santorini, Greece, and enjoying the best lobster pasta dish either of us ever had.

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Today, in a new supermarket in Flushing, we saw an absolutely beautiful, three pound lobster. I went to pet it and it jumped into my arms (not literally, but it was super active). And it was only $6.99 per pound… we had to have it!

3 Pounder with Large Orange

Jessica asked me to make dinner, as work has been keeping her very busy. I’m not the biggest fan of steamed lobster, I find it rather boring, and the first thing that came to mind was “our” dish, let’s call it “Santorini Lobster”.

Well, I didn’t quite nail the exact dish, but I made something super delicious. Normally I wouldn’t post an attempt unless it came out correctly, but this was so good, that it doesn’t matter that it wasn’t the same as the original. Make this. However, at the end of this post, I’ll post a few notes for next time, that should move it closer to the original.

Santorini Lobster Plated

Santorini Lobster – Attempt 1
~makes two huge, or three normal portions

Ingredients

  • 3 lb. Cold Water Lobster or 2 lb. Spiny Lobster
  • 1 large Yellow Onion, sliced
  • 5 tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil, divided
  • 1.5 tbsp. Minced Garlic
  • 1 large Orange, supremed and juiced
  • 1/2 tsp. Red Pepper Flakes
  • 5 Plum Tomatoes, crushed
  • 1 tsp. Oregano
  • 2 tbsp. White Wine Vinegar
  • Kosher Salt
  • Black Pepper
  • 1/2 lb. Thin Spaghetti, boiled in well salted water

Instructions

1. Kill lobster (push knife through back of head, behind eyes), cut off tail and slice every other section, remove claws (if cold water) and crack open, separate arms; reserve in a bowl. If there is any fat or roe, keep separate.

2. In a large saute pan, with high sides, heat 3 tbsp. of olive oil over medium heat. Add onions and a good pinch of salt. Cook until onions are browning and soft, about six minutes. Add garlic and red pepper flakes.

Lobster Starting to Cook

3. Add lobster to pan and cover, cook about three minutes. Turn lobster pieces, cover, and cook another three minutes. Remove lobster back to bowl, except the head; try to keep onions in the pan. If there is roe or fat add to pan. Deglaze with vinegar and orange juice. Add orange segments, tomatoes, oregano, and black pepper. Cook about three minutes.

4. Remove head from sauce, return other lobster to sauce, add pasta, add remaining olive oil, add additional salt, toss together. Taste for seasoning and plate.

Claw and Tail over Pasta

Now that you know how to make “attempt 1”, here are some tips for next time, a.k.a. attempt 2:

  • Add scallion whites
  • Add orange zest
  • Add thin orange slices that still have skin on
  • Plate with thin orange slices
  • Try to use a lobster stock, if available
Tail Segment

Mmmm… we can’t wait until next time!

posted by Lon at 02:45 PM Filed under Mediterranean, Recipes. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.