Butter-Poached Lobster Linguine with Garlic and Lemon
- Savory
- Stovetop
- Oven
Sweet lobster tails poached in garlic butter, tossed with linguine in a silky lemon-butter sauce and finished with fresh parsley. A rich, high-protein dinner for two.
- Total
- 40 min
- Prep 15 · Cook 25
- Serves
- 2
- Difficulty
- Medium
You'll practice: Poaching · Emulsifying
Instructions
-
Bring 2 l water to a boil in a large pot and season with 1 tsp salt. Peel and finely chop the 4 garlic cloves. Pick and roughly chop the parsley leaves. Zest the lemon into a small bowl, then cut the lemon in half.
~8 min
-
Add the linguine to the boiling water and cook until al dente, about 9 minutes, stirring once so it does not stick. Before draining, scoop out 120 ml of the starchy cooking water and set it aside.
~9 min
The starchy cooking water helps the butter and lemon juice emulsify into a glossy sauce that clings to the pasta.
-
While step 2 cooks
While the linguine cooks, melt 60 g butter in a large frying pan over medium-low heat. Add the garlic and cook gently until fragrant and pale golden, 1 to 2 minutes, without letting it brown.
~2 min
Gentle heat coaxes out the garlic's sweetness; browning makes it bitter and would dull the lobster butter.
Cook the garlic only until pale golden: once it turns dark brown it tastes bitter and will dull the sweet lobster butter.
-
Split the lobster tails lengthwise through the shell with a knife. Lay them cut side down in the garlic butter, cover, and cook over medium-low heat until the flesh turns opaque and reaches 63°C/145°F, 5 to 7 minutes. Turn once halfway.
~7 min
Covering traps steam so the lobster poaches gently and stays moist; the thermometer guarantees it is cooked through without overcooking.
Pull the lobster off the heat as soon as it reaches 63°C/145°F; it keeps cooking in the warm pan and overcooked tail meat turns rubbery.
Poaching Keep the butter at a gentle simmer and cover the pan; the lobster should turn opaque without the butter bubbling hard or the meat toughening.
-
Drain the linguine, reserving the cooking water. Add the linguine, remaining 20 g butter, 80 ml of the reserved cooking water, the lemon zest and the juice of half the lemon to the pan with the lobster. Toss over low heat until the sauce turns glossy and coats the pasta, 1 to 2 minutes, adding more cooking water a splash at a time if it looks dry.
~2 min
Tossing over low heat emulsifies the butter with the starchy water and lemon juice, creating a silky sauce that coats every strand.
Emulsifying Toss the pasta over low heat with starchy water and butter until the sauce turns glossy and clings; add water a splash at a time if it looks greasy or dry.
-
Season with black pepper and the remaining lemon juice to taste. Fold through the parsley, divide between two warm plates and spoon the butter sauce over the top.
~1 min
