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Lobster Fra Diablo Recipe
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Lobster Fra Diavolo Recipe

Sweet lobster, spicy tomato sauce, and properly finished pasta create a fra diavolo that tastes bold without losing the lobster underneath all the drama.
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time25 minutes
Total Time35 minutes
Course: Pasta
Cuisine: American
Keyword: lobster, tomato sauce
Servings: 4 servings

Equipment

  • large pot
  • Saute Pan

Ingredients

  • 1 pound linguini
  • 2 lobsters cooked with meat removed or 4 lobster tails cooked, meat removed and split in half
  • 10 medium shrimp
  • ½ cup white wine 2 shallots finely chopped
  • 2 shallots finely chopped
  • 2 cups basic tomato sauce homemade or canned
  • 3 cloves garlic finely chopped
  • 1 teaspoon fresh oregano or 1/2 teaspoon dried
  • 3 teaspoons fresh basil chopped or 1½ teaspoon dried
  • 1 tablespoon crushed red pepper
  • ½ cup claim juice
  • salt and pepper to taste
US Customary - Metric

Instructions

  • Bring a large pot of heavily salted water to a boil.
    The water should taste slightly salty. This is your only chance to season the pasta itself.
  • Heat olive oil in a wide sauté pan over medium heat. Add garlic and red pepper flakes.
    Stir constantly for 30–60 seconds until the garlic smells fragrant but has not browned.
    • Burned garlic turns the whole sauce bitter.
  • Add tomato paste if using and cook until it darkens slightly.
    This concentrates the flavor and gives the sauce more depth, rather than tasting flat and watery.
  • Pour in the white wine and scrape the bottom of the pan.
    Let the wine reduce by about half so the alcohol cooks off and the flavor concentrates.
  • Add crushed tomatoes and simmer gently for 15–20 minutes.
    The sauce should thicken slightly and lose its raw, canned-tomato taste.
  • While the sauce simmers, cook the pasta until slightly under al dente.
    The pasta should still have a little firmness because it will finish cooking in the sauce.
  • Add the lobster meat to the sauce.
    Cook gently for just a few minutes until the lobster turns opaque and barely firm.
    • Overcooked lobster becomes tight and rubbery fast.
  • Transfer the pasta directly into the sauce along with a splash of pasta water.
    Toss continuously until the sauce coats the noodles rather than sitting beneath them.
  • Finish with butter, parsley, and a squeeze of lemon juice if needed.
    Butter softens the sharp edges while lemon brightens the sauce and wakes everything up.
  • Serve immediately.
    Fra diavolo waits for nobody. The pasta keeps absorbing sauce and the lobster keeps cooking even off the heat.

Notes

You want to time the cooking of the linguini with making the fra diablo sauce. The pasta should be al dente so you have to pay attention to when you start actually cooking the pasta. Having the sauce ready and having to wait on the pasta is not great, but overcooked pasta is worse.