Lobster Seafood Pasta (get pdf)

  When my nephew was traveling back from his military base in Maine to his home in North Carolina, he brought back a load of cooked lobster and proceeded to drop them off to members of his family in Pennsylvania! That's the kind of guy he is, always thinking of everybody else. I felt it a necessity to take advantage of his generosity and effort, and sought out a worthy recipe. I found this one on epicurious.com. I used the recipe base, took some hints from the comments, and added a few touches myself. The result was worthy of publication and recording so I can make it again!

INGREDIENTS (you can add or omit at will)
1 lb.spaghetti
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
2 large shallots, finely chopped
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 lb. cherry and/or Sun Gold tomatoes, halved
2 roma tomatoes, deseeded and roughly chopped
1 lb. picked cooked lobster meat
1 pound cooked large shrimp
Freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
Lemon wedges (for serving)
½ lb. baby Bella sliced mushrooms
2 cloves thinly sliced garlic
½ bunch asparagus, cut into 2 inch lengths
heavy cream
fresh basil leaves
corn starch

- Heat oil and butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook shallots and red pepper flakes, stirring often, until shallots are softened, about 2 minutes.
- Add mushrooms and continue to cook several minutes.
- Add cherry and roma tomatoes and cook, stirring often, mashing occasionally, until tomatoes are soft and juicy, 5-8 minutes.
- Start cooking your pasta in a separate pot (as you normally do, boiling salted water with a little oil added, and following pasta cooking directions)
- Add asparagus to the tomatoes.
- As tomatoes continue to cook down, add 1/2 cup of pasta water at a time, stirring each time.
- When things are looking good, stir in some heavy cream, a bit at a time, until you get a nice rosy color. If you need more juice, feel free to add additional pasta water.
- Thoroughly mix 2-4 teaspoons of corn starch with as little cold water as needed to disolve the corn starch. I use a jar with a lid, and shake it to mix.
- Add the corn starch mix a little at a time, stirring and cooking each time until you get a desired consistency. I like the juice a little on the thin side, but thick enough to coat the spaghetti just a bit.
- Look at the proportions in your pan and feel free to add more of anything until you get the balance you want.
- When satisfied, add your cooked lobster and shrimp, and stir until it is hot throughout.

The original recipe calls for mixing your cooked pasta with all of the other ingredients but I prefer to keep them separate so I can control the proportions on my plate.

Serve pasta and sauce topped with lemon zest, fresh basil leaves, grated cheese, and with lemon wedges alongside for squeezing over.