Lobster Fra Diavolo

Name: Lobster Fra Diavolo
Yield: serves 4 to 6
Ingredients: Two 1 1/2-pound lobsters; 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus more for pasta pot; 1 pound spaghetti; All-purpose flour, for dredging the lobster; 1/2 cup vegetable oil; 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil; 2 medium onions, finely chopped; 3 garlic cloves, crushed and peeled; 2 tablespoons tomato paste; Two 28-ounce cans Italian plum tomatoes, preferably San Marzano, crushed by hand; 1/2 to 1 teaspoon peperoncino flakes; 1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, packed, shredded

December 14, 2011

Although this dish has all the makings of an Italian dish, everything I have read points to its being an Italian American invention, mostly likely conceived in New York. In Italy they do make a sauce with lobsters with which they dress pasta and risotto, but it is in the form of brodetto, seafood stew—lighter than the Italian American Fra Diavolo, made with onions instead of garlic, and without oregano. Here I give you a delicious version that is a combination of both.

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