Lobster for a Special Occasion
By David Harbilas
My parents, like many, grew up poor, my mother in Wales, my father in New York City.
Both swore to give their children more than they had, and my brother and I grew up privileged and sheltered.
It was unheard of to us to not have a dinner prepared every night, with placemats, silverware, and glasses laid out, as in a restaurant.
We grew up lucky in having such a ritual, as it taught us not only the beauties of food and dining but of being part of a loving family.
One of my parents’ dreams was to own a vacation home, and in the early 1980’s they bought a condominium in Florida. They made friends with many of the transplanted residents in the area, two of which would become long-term friends.
Pat and Gerry, two retired ladies from, if I remember correctly, the tri-state area, lived next door and yelled at my brother and I whenever we used our skateboards on their front parking curb.
We alwaysavoided them, despite our parents’ insistence that they meant well by trying to teach us to respect others’ property. Years later, I went to our Florida condo on my own and reacquainted myself with them. They would each die not long after my visit with them. This is what I cooked for them. Despite our not really knowing one another, and only getting to understand a little of what each of our lives were about over the course of that dinner, we somehow bonded and became friends.
I would never see either again and only received a letter of thanks a few weeks later, after I’d gone home. To me, this recipe is a testament to the special place that food holds for many of us, often without our fully understanding it at the time we share it.
Serves 3
- 3 lobsters, about 2 pounds each
- 2 large onions
- 5 cloves of garlic
- 5 red globe or slicing variety tomatoes
- 9 red roma or plum tomatoes
- 3 sprigs of thyme
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 cup of white wine (optional—Gerry and Pat didn’t drink, so I left it out)
- 1 pound pasta, any shape
- ¼ cup basil leaves
- olive oil
- salt and pepper to taste
Put a large pot of water on the stove to cook the lobsters and prepare an ice bath. When the water is boiling add about 1 cup of salt (yes, one whole cup—the water should taste as salty as ocean water) and add the lobsters. Cook for five minutes, then remove into the ice bath and cool for at least five minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Cut the stem end out of the globe tomatoes and place in a small roasting pan with about ¼ cup of olive oil. Season lightly with salt and pepper and cover the pan with foil. Roast the tomatoes for 4-5 hours, or until shriveled and reduced in size by about 1/3—the tomatoes should give off a lot of juice. Cut the plum tomatoes in half lengthwise and place cut side up on a sheet pan.
Cut the onions roughly and scatter around the plum tomatoes. Add the garlic cloves to the pan and scatter the thyme sprigs. Drizzle the vegetables with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Place in the oven alongside the roasting pan with the other tomatoes and roast for at least 2 hours. The plum tomatoes should not give off as much liquid as the globe variety. The idea for the sauce will be for the globe tomatoes to provide it with the “liquid”, while the plum tomatoes will give it a meaty, rich flavor and texture.
Remove both pans and cool the tomatoes for at least 30 minutes. Puree the globe tomatoes in a blender, until very smooth. Puree the plum tomatoes, onions and garlic, removing the bay leaf and thyme, in a food processor—this mixture should be a little coarse. Combine both sauces in one saucepan with the white wine and simmer for 30-40 minutes, or until slightly thickened and sweet.
Meanwhile, remove all the meat from the lobsters, separating the claws from the body, the knuckles from the claws and the tail from the body. Add the meat to the sauce and keep warm. Cook the pasta in boiling, salted water and drain. Add a little of the tomato sauce to the pasta and toss. Cut the basil cross-wise into ribbons (chiffonade) and add to the pasta. Serve the pasta with the sauce and lobster spooned over it.
