Make It Snappy

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Lobsters have become somewhat a luxury item haven’t they, and this seems to have caused some need for chefs to get ultra-creative with them, why??? What is wrong with cooking them simply so as to enjoy their own natural flavours and sweetness to the fullest? It is one culinary thing I just don’t understand.

So having brought plenty of these luscious lovelies back from Norfolk I wanted to make the most out of them. I had a craving for pasta last night and decided to combine the two items, turning to Giorgio Locatelli’s book Made in Italy: Food & Stories for inspiration.

The result was outstanding – spaghetti with a delicate tomato sauce dotted with shrimps and lobster pieces, utter seafood heaven on a plate. No recipe is to be found here because there really isn’t the need; simply fry a little garlic and a peperoncino in some olive oil, add diced tomato, lobster and shrimp then toss through the cooked pasta, simplicity itself.

The brand of pasta I used was De Cecco, which is of fantastic quality and is easily available in most supermarkets and grocery stores too, which is always a bonus. Although it may sound strange, fresh pasta just wouldn’t have worked here; you need the bite that comes from the dried variety.

Although there was a slight hint of chili in the sauce (coming from the one peperoncino) it didn’t interfere with the delicacy of the seafood at all, in fact along with the slight acidity of the tomatoes it positively enhanced it.

Not that any extra carbohydrate was really needed in this meal, but I served it with some fresh baked bread too.  Now you can’t go having a lovely Italian meal like this and not have fresh bread can you? Oh and I couldn’t resist getting my hands on some lovely bread dough either.

I don’t know if it’s just the feel of the dough that makes me love working with bread, or if it’s the fact that four simple ingredients come together so well to make something so delightful, but, whatever it is, I love it.

The recipe came from The Italian Baker (Carol Field), an absolute stunner of a bread book, and can also be found here on Brenda’s great blog.

Instead of baking the bread in a loaf tin as specified I decided to bake individual rolls in a brioche mould, partly because they look so sweet and partly to fulfill the criteria needed for this months Bread Baking Day challenge.

This month the challenge is being hosted by My Diverse Kitchen and is focusing on small breads (of any description).

They were delightful little rolls, crisp on the outside and really light but chewy on the inside, perfect for mopping up the extra sauce.

Clean plates all round last night here!

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Filed under Bread, Bread Baking Day, Challenges, Fish & Seafood, My Recipes, Pasta