Pasta with lobster, peas, and marscapone

I stole this recipe from somewhere, but it’s damn good and has become the go-to for lobster pasta, more so than this one. It’s incredibly fast to prepare surprisingly un-cheesy.

Ingredients:

• Meat of 2 1-1/4 pound lobsters
• 1 lb of cavatelli pasta
• 2 TBS olive oil
• 2 shallots, minced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup chicken stock
• 8 ounces frozen peas
• ¼ cup fresh flat-leaf parsley, minced
• 1-½ TBS each fresh thyme, minced and fresh chives, sliced into tiny rounds
• 1/2 cup Mascarpone
• Salt and pepper

Directions:

I’m not sure this is covered elsewhere, so here is how I like to prepare lobsters when you’re going to use their meat for something else.

First, you must steam or boil them. I find that the old New England rule of 7 minutes per pound is pretty accurate, whether you’re steaming or boiling. First off, it is not true that lobsters scream when you put them in boiling water; secondly, nor is it true that they just get sleepy. Lobsters are bugs – there’s no doubt about that – and their brains are tiny, but they do have pain receptacles and do react in a strong negative way to attempts to kill them, so I don’t think you can accurately argue that they mind being plunged into boiling water.

So – it is necessary to kill them first, and this can be a gruesome task. Slaughter is, I think, a more accurate term. Make sure you have a sharp knife for this, as any kosher butcher would use, if these were kosher. In addition to being the more humane way to go about preparing them, killing them before boiling is also a good opportunity to remove all the garbage that they’ve been holding in their food sac, which is right behind their head.

In order to

Bring large pot of water to boil. Add the cavatelli and cook; you can prepare the sauce below while it is cooking. If the pasta ends early, drain and shock it under cold water to stop it from cooking; toss in olive oil and hold. Add the frozen peas about 30 seconds before the pasta is done.

Meanwhile, in heavy large sauté pan over moderately high heat, heat olive oil until hot but not smoking. Add shallots and garlic and sauté over medium heat until translucent, about 1 minute. Turn heat to medium high, add chicken stock, parsley, thyme, chives, pasta, and mascarpone. Stir to combine, then simmer for about 2 minutes, stirring, until the mixture is homogenous and reduced slightly. Add the lobster and stir until it is heated through, about 1 minute. Add the pasta and toss; serve without delay.