A red lobster, half a lemon, and a few navy stripes: the artwork on Yphora’s Lobster & Lemon tote reads like a lunch menu. It brings to mind a little table by the water, where the bread arrives first, the pasta comes in shallow bowls, and nobody is in a hurry to ask for the check. That was the starting point for this recipe: a coastal lunch you can make at home, even when the view from your kitchen is decidedly inland.
The key is to use the lemon twice. Let the zest warm gently in butter with a little garlic, then save the juice for the end. You get the fragrance of the peel and just enough tartness to balance the sweet lobster. A splash of pasta water brings everything together into a light sauce that clings to the linguine.
Lemon Butter Lobster Linguine
Serves 2 · About 25 minutes · Uses cooked lobster meat
Ingredients
- 6 ounces dried linguine
- 6 to 8 ounces fully cooked lobster meat, cut into bite-size pieces and thawed if frozen
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
- 1 small garlic clove, finely chopped
- 1 lemon: finely grate 1 teaspoon of zest, squeeze 1 tablespoon of juice, and cut the remaining lemon into wedges
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Method
- Cook the linguine. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the pasta until just shy of al dente; it will finish in the skillet. Before draining, scoop out ½ cup of the pasta water.
- Make the lemon butter. When the pasta is almost ready, melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Add the garlic and lemon zest. Stir for about 30 seconds, just until fragrant, keeping the garlic pale.
- Finish the pasta in the skillet. Add the drained linguine and ¼ cup of the reserved pasta water. Toss for about a minute, until the butter coats the strands. Gently fold in the cooked lobster and warm it through over low heat. If the sauce looks tight, loosen it with another spoonful of pasta water.
- Add the finishing touches. Take the skillet off the heat. Toss in the remaining butter, half the lemon juice, and the parsley. Taste a forkful before adding the rest of the juice: you should still be able to taste the sweetness of the lobster. Finish with black pepper and serve with lemon wedges.
Bring the coast to the table
Warm two shallow bowls while the water boils. When the pasta is ready, twirl the linguine into each bowl first, then spoon the larger pieces of lobster over the top so they don’t all end up in the last serving. Set out some torn bread for the lemon butter left at the bottom.
For the table, borrow just one detail from the tote: a navy napkin against a plain white plate. The lobster and lemon supply the rest of the color. The same idea works for a market-day outfit: an open white shirt over a navy tank, straight-leg jeans, and the illustrated tote over your shoulder.
If this sounds like lunch with someone you know, tuck a handwritten copy of the recipe and a fresh lemon into the Lobster & Lemon Canvas Tote Bag. It makes a personal gift, especially if the last line on the recipe card reads, “I’ll cook if you bring the bread.” Find the tote in Yphora’s European Summer collection. Yphora
