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Brown butter two days in a row? Oops.
I was not planning on posting this today, but then I thought “why the heck not?”.
Two days of brown butter can never be a bad thing, especially when one is sweet and the other is savory. It is kind of perfect actually.
That and like I said yesterday, I have brown butter on the brain. Expect more because I promise it is coming.
I read somewhere in one of my millions of magazines I subscribe to that I let sit in a drawer for weeks upon weeks and then finally quickly flip through when I realize I am a month behind, that lobster is in season in September. To be honest, I really had no idea seafood had seasons. I mean, don’t fish live all year round?
I mean, I know they do, but maybe it is easier to catch them in the warmer months? Yeah, I am sure that has to be it. Right?
Ugh. Who knows, I think I need to do some reading. I feel like I should know this stuff.
Anyway, my point is lobster is in season all September long and that means it is probably going to be on sale (it already is here) and that means it’s time to eat some lobster!
Heck yes.
I can always be down with that.
Especially, when the lobster involves butter. Lobster and butter just go hand in hand. They work together to make each other better.
It’s a beautiful thing.
I used lobster tails for this because one, they are on sale, and two?
Well, I am way too scared to actually go and buy a live lobster, kill it, de-shell it and eat it. Sure, I think I could do it, but I really do not want to. I like lobster tails and they are easy and quick and well – already dead. Plus, I live in Colorado, in a small mountain town and I am pretty sure I would have to go to Denver to find a live one and even then I still think it might be hard.
So yeah, I am sticking with the tails. They never fail me.
The best part is that this dish is really simple.
It’s not like these Brown Butter Lobster Ravioli I made back in February that require a little more time. Although, that time is worth it. Those ravioli are still my all time favorite lobster dish, better than any restaurant. They are amazing and if you have the time and want to make some of the best homemade ravioli than you need to go and make those. Really you do.
But if you are looking for a quicker fix then this is your dish, it’s still totally amazing.
The crispy kale, the bacon, the fontina! It’s all so good and then topping if off with some fresh basil and a generous drizzle of brown butter?
Yeah, it’s pure awesomeness.
Brown Butter Lobster, Bacon + Crispy Kale and Fontina Pasta
Ingredients
- 4 slices thick cut bacon
- 4 ounce lobster tails, 4-8
- 6 tablespoon butter, divided
- 2 cloves garlic, minced or grated
- 1 leaves bunch kale, torn away from the stem
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 tablespoons parmesan cheese
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
- 1 pound angel pasta
- 1/2 lemon, juiced
- 1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
- 6-7 ounces fontina cheese, cubed
- 1/4 cup fresh basil or parsley or both, chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, add kale, olive oil, parmesan cheese, 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Toss to coat with your hands and massage kale for about 1 minute. Spread on a baking sheet and bake for 15-18 minutes, tossing 1-2 times while cooking, until crispy. Remove and set aside.
- Bring pasta water to a boil and prepare pasta according to directions.
- While the kale is cooking and the water comes to a boil start working on the bacon. Cook the bacon in a large skillet over medium heat until the fat has rendered and the bacon is crispy, about 7 minutes. Remove bacon from pan and set aside on paper towels to drain. Once cooled, crumble. Drain all but 1 tablespoon of bacon fat.
- To prepare the lobster, lay the lobster tails flat on a cutting board with the shell side facing upward. Using a very sharp, large knife, cut the tail in half lengthwise and slice all the way through the shell. Season the meat side lightly with salt and pepper.
- Bring the skillet used for bacon back to medium-high heat. Once it’s hot, add 1 tablespoon butter and swirl to coat. Place the lobster tails meat-side down in the pan and sear for 5 minutes or until the shells turn bright red. Remove tails from the pan and set aside.
- To the same skillet add another tablespoon of butter. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds, add the pasta, crushed red pepper, cayenne and a pinch of salt and pepper. Toss well and cook for 2 minutes, just until the pasta is hot. Once the pasta is hot add the tomatoes and cubed fontina cheese. Then remove the pasta from the heat, drizzle with lemon juice and toss well. Add in the crispy kale.
- In a separate small skillet melt 4 tablespoons butter over medium heat until just browned. Butter will melt, foam and froth, then begin to brown along the bottom. Whisk browned bits off of the bottom of the pan.
- Pop the lobster meat out of the shells and divide the pasta among plates or bowls. Top each plate with lobster meat and a sprinkle of chopped basil. Drizzle with browned butter and top with the crumbled bacon.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Did you make this recipe? Please rate & comment below.
Oh and the crispy kale? Yeah, expect a lot more of that too. It too is awesome.
Excellent recipe to the tee. My ex husband and my new husband loved it lol. I found this recipe years ago and I always use it when I either want to impress someone or have a high end healthy meal.
Hey Lauren,
Fantastic!!🌻 I appreciate you making this recipe and sharing your review, so glad to hear it turned out well for you! xT
Made this for dinner tonight and it was fantastic! We all loved it and the kids loved the crispy kale! We will definitely be making it again 🙂
Hey Eva,
Amazing!! So glad to hear that this recipe was tasty and thanks a lot for trying it out! xT
Made it last night. Made a few modifications such as juice of a whole lemon and more Cayenne pepper and red pepper flakes which gave the dish a kick also didn’t cut the tomatoes and had the let the fontina cook a bit to melt.
Hey there,
Amazing!! I love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks so much for making it! xT
Went into the archives for Valentine’s day lobster and I’m so glad I did! This recipe is perfection. All of the flavors just compliment each other so well. The crispy kale was hard not to just eat off the pan.
Hey Sara,
Thanks so much for giving this recipe a try, I am so glad it was enjoyed! Happy Sunday:) xTieghan
Terrible! Tasted awful. Followed the recipe as is except I didn’t have linguine – used spaghetti.
Hey Liz,
So so sorry you did not enjoy this recipe, please let me know if I can help in anyway! I hope you have a fantastic week! xTieghan
Hi We are new to cooking lobster – your recipe says “4 ounce lobster tails 4-8” is that 4 1oz lobster tails, or 4 ounces total of lobster tails, or 4 lobster tails that are on average 6-8 oz each? help!
We are looking to give this recipe to our boss with a meat package that comes with 2 lobster tails and just trying to figure out the recipe 🙂
Thanks it looks delicious.
Hey Emilee,
Sorry for the confusion, you will want to use 4-8 (4oz) lobster tails. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions. Happy Holidays! xTieghan
I made this last night with frozen lobster tails. It was amazing! My husband thinks we should have it again.
Instead of waiting until lobster is on sale, he suggested using shrimp instead! That is much easier to come by!
Thank you Marietta! xTieghan
I absolutely love this dish! I make it every year as a special treat for myself when I’m on vacation!
That is so amazing! So glad you love this Joyce! xTieghan