This linguine dish hails from the The Naka Island Marriott in Phuket, Thailand. One night at dinner, we ordered this pasta dish and was immediately blown away by its clean yet complex (and true to Thailand, a little spicy!) flavors. We liked it so much that we ordered it every night we were at the resort. :lol
This dish is a twist on the typical Linguine and Clam Sauce, where clams are replaced by Phuket lobster, and Thai chilies are added to give this dish a unique Thai punch. It was so dang good! After inquiring about the ingredients, the waiter shared with me that the secret to the dish was a truffle tapenade. Then on our last day I met Chef Johnathan Bruell, the Executive Chef at the time, who graciously gave me the list of ingredients for the dish. I knew right away that this was something I’m going to have to recreate when I got home.
Fast forward, and back in the US … I obviously can’t get Phuket lobster here, so our North American lobster variety will have to do. And it does just fine. If you can’t get lobster, I think shrimp or even scallops will work great.
Next ingredient is the truffle tapenade; while this is somewhat an exotic ingredient, you’ll be glad to know that it isn’t too difficult to find. I was able to find it at Wegmans in Rochester NY, and most well-stocked grocery stores elsewhere. I’ve also see it at delis and Italian grocers, as well as readily available online. There are many brands and varieties, and Chef Johnathan didn’t specify which one he used (or maybe he made it himself, who knows), so I picked one and went with it. I haven’t tried others. In this recipe, I use the one pictured on the right.
Lastly, Chef Johnathan did not give me the steps to make this recipe, so I filled in the blanks using common techniques for pasta dishes of this type.
I’m sure there is a lot of flexibility in how this dish can come together. I’ve tried making this a couple of times now and each time has turned out very close to my memory of the dish we had in Phuket. A few nights ago when I was thinking “linguine and clams” for dinner, I thought what better time to make this and write it down. So here we are …. Enjoy!
Lobster Linguine
Ingredients
- 4 tails fresh lobster
- 3 tbsp garlic, thinly sliced
- 1/4 cups shallots, minced
- 2-3 tbsp red jalapenos (minced), optional - see notes
- 1/2 tbsp thai chilies (minced), optional - see notes
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1 cup canned diced tomatoes (reserve the juice/liquid), see notes
- 2/3 cup white wine
- 1½ tsp truffle tapenade, see notes
- handful chopped parsley
- 2 tbsp clarified butter or ghee
- 9 oz linguine pasta
- salt & pepper
How I Make It
Lobster
- Cut lobster tails in half with the shell on with a good chef's knife or cleaver. Season the meat with salt and pepper.
- Heat the clarified butter in a pan. Pick a pan that you can finish the whole dish in, large enough to toss the pasta in at the end. When the butter is hot, cook the lobster tails, meat side down. Sautee until they are cooked through, about 2-3 minutes each side. Remove from heat and let cool. Once cooled, pull the meat out of the shells and chop into bite-sized pieces. Set aside.
Pasta
- Bring water to a boil and cook the linguine per package instructions to just under al dente. If you time this right, your pasta can be ready when the sauce is ready. Reserve a little of the pasta water.
- Let the same pan that was used to cook the lobster cool down. Add olive oil, garlic, shallots and gently sautee on low heat for about 5 mins. The idea is to infuse the oil with the aromatics through gently cooking the garlic & shallot. Keep watch on the heat and make sure the garlic & shallots to do not turn brown. You are not trying to fry it.
- After the garlic & shallots have softenned, add the chopped tomatoes and stir through. I use canned chopped tomatoes (which I chop a little more since I think the chunks they come in are too large).
- Add white wine and bring it to a gentle simmer for a 3-4 minutes. Add chilies and truffle tapenade. Add a little of the tomato liquid from the chopped tomatoes, about 1/4- 1/2 cup. Stir through and let simmer for another 2-3 minutes.
- When pasta is just under al dente, add it into the sauce along with a little pasta water. Toss the pasta through the sauce. It will continue to cook for another minute or two. If it gets too dry, add a little more pasta water or tomato liquid.
- Season with salt & pepper to taste. Put the chopped lobster back, add chopped parsely and mix through to heat the lobster back up. Top with a little parmesan and serve!
Notes
- Even though the tomatoes are already chopped, you may want to chop them a little more to achieve the size/consistency you like. Drain the canned tomatoes but reserve the liquid.
- Truffle tapenade is the secret ingredient to this dish. You can get this at well-stocked grocery stores, Italian grocers or delis, or online.
- This dish came from an English chef at a hotel in Phuket Thailand - so naturally it will contain chilies 🙂 you can leave out the chilies if you don't like spicy, or substitute it for a milder pepper like bell peppers. If you like spicy, add more chilies to taste.
