Hold on to your seats here folks, because I’m about to blow your mind! It is totally possible to make Lobster Pasta on a budget by not including any expensive lobster at all. My version replicates all that luxury flavor without having to break the bank.
What’s the Best Shellfish for Pasta?
All shellfish goes well with pasta. Just think about the Italian classics Spaghetti Vongole (with clams) or alle Cozze (with mussels). But there’s no denying that for sheer indulgence and luxury, nothing beats lobster pasta. With its large meaty claws and powerful flavor, it’s always going to be a winner. And of course it helps that it combines so well with other rich ingredients, like butter. But you know what? There are other more affordable shellfish you can use instead, which get you a very similar result.
What Shellfish is Closest to Lobster?
The closest thing to lobster is giant shrimp or langoustines. You still get plenty of meat from them at just a fraction of the cost. Of course the meat is only a part of what makes lobster pasta special. It’s great to have those big chunks of claw meat in the linguine – and we can replicate that with the giant shrimp – but for the best taste, you want to squeeze every last bit of fishy flavor out of your shellfish.
What Do I Add to Lobster Pasta?
The classic luxury pasta dishes feature dairy products like butter and cream, and I’m going to stick to that here. We’ll be infusing butter with shrimp flavor, and adding creme fraiche at the end for a creamy taste of indulgence. Beyond that, it’s really up to you, but personally I think leeks give a very refined, French sort of feeling to most dishes, including this one. And I’ve never yet met a crustacean who didn’t love garlic. So we’re adding in a ton of garlic, plus the parsley that goes with it so well. Lemon and chili are the icing on the cake.
How to Get the Most from Your Shrimp
This recipe is not at all difficult, but it does have quite a few steps to it. This is because we don’t want to waste a single bit of tasty shrimp flavor! First we use the shrimp to infuse the butter, then we peel the cooked shrimp and reserve the flesh for the pasta. Then we go on to use the shells to add extra flavor to a broth, which we use to cook the pasta in.
How to Finish the Dish
Once you have your shrimp-and-garlic infused butter, you can use it to gently sweat the leeks down until they’re soft. Strain out the garlic first, because you don’t want it to burn. Then add the leeks to the pan with the infused butter and cook over a low heat until they are sweet and soft, adding luxury aromatic flavor.
Once your leeks are softened and the shrimp prepared, all you need to do is to cook the pasta in the shrimp broth, according to packet instructions. For linguine, it is usually around 8-10 minutes. Drain, toss with the leeks, shrimp flesh, reserved garlic and add the creme fraiche and parsley. Luxury at a fraction of the price!
Storage Notes
If you want to prepare this dish in advance, I suggest doing everything up to step 5 earlier in the day and refrigerating the separate components. Toss the pieces of shrimp into the pasta pan for the last 30 seconds of cooking time, so they get a chance to warm through, but the leeks should warm up enough in the residual heat from the pasta.
You can store leftovers and reheat them the following day, but the dish is really best eaten fresh. Because it contains fresh shellfish, I don’t recommend storing it for longer than 24 hours, and it’s definitely not recommended for freezing.
Looking for More Pasta Dishes?
I do love pasta! Here are a few other pasta dishes I’ve shared before that you might enjoy as well.
Conclusion
Next time you want to impress someone but haven’t got a ton of money to spend, I do recommend giving this cheats’ version of Lobster Pasta a try. It’s great for a date night, easy to make, and you can get the prep out of the way earlier on before finishing off at the last moment to wow your special someone.
Lobster Pasta (on a budget)
Ingredients
- 1/2 lb giant shrimp or langoustines whole, unpeeled
- 1/2 stick butter
- 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
- 6 cloves garlic peeled and sliced
- 1 leek chopped
- 1/2 lb linguine
- 1 bunch parsley roughly chopped
- 1 tbsp creme fraiche
- 1/2 lemon
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Melt the butter in a large pan over medium heat. Add the shrimp, red pepper flakes, and garlic. Cook for about 3-4 minutes until the shrimp are cooked.
- Remove the shrimp and peel them. Cut the flesh into chunks and add the shells and heads to a fresh pan with cold water.
- Strain the butter, reserving the garlic slices.
- Return the infused butter to the pan and add the leeks. Sauté until softened but not colored, about 6-8 minutes.
- Bring the pan of water with shrimp shells to a boil. Simmer, then strain, discarding the shells and keeping the liquid.
- Bring the liquid back to a boil and cook the linguine according to packet instructions. Drain.
- Toss the linguine with the leeks, shrimp flesh, reserved garlic, creme fraiche, and chopped parsley.
- Serve immediately with lemon wedges on the side to squeeze over.
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