Roast Lobster with Bread Crumb Topping

Name: Roast Lobster with Bread Crumb Topping
Yield: serves 6
Ingredients: 3 live lobsters, about 1 1/2 pounds each; 1 cup dry bread crumbs; 2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley; 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt; 1/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil; 2 cups dry white wine; Lemon wedges for garnishing; A half-sheet pan (12 by 18 inches) or other large, rimmed baking sheet; heavy aluminum foil; moist napkins and bowls for the lobster shells, on the table

December 9, 2011

This terrific lobster preparation reminds me of a dish that was popular on the menus of Italian-American restaurants when I first came to the United States. Lobster oreganata, as the dish was called, was a split lobster topped with bread crumbs, seasoned with dry oregano, and baked. On recent visits to the Sardinian coast, I’ve often had its prized spiny lobsters prepared in quite similar fashion. So, though I am pleased to bring you this recipe for authentic Sardinian aragosta arrosta (roast lobster), I am quite sure that Italian-American restaurants and immigrants had the same idea many years ago. As with the preceding Aragosta alla Catalana, I like this dinner to be a hands-on, fully absorbing experience. After my guests have salad or a vegetable appetizer, I give everyone a half-lobster without the distraction of side dishes, furnishing guests with plenty of wet towels and bowls for empty shells. Then we all just concentrate on getting every morsel of meat out of these amazing crustaceans.

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