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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.
I ave my made this recipe twice and I can’t say enough about it. It is absolutely wonderful! Flavor is spot on. Love it! My daughter turned 18 yesterday and this is what she ask me to make her out of all the choices he could have made ( even over eating out!).
I am so glad you and your daughter have been loving this recipe Yvonne! That is so amazing! Thank you!
I’m happy to see kale getting some press in this wonderful recipe. Kale has a great many health benefits and is even recommended to reduce the risk of breast cancer. Kale is easy to include in other dishes and is easy to grow for those of us to like to grow our own “real” food at home and avoid all the nasty pesticides and artificial fertilizers. Cruciferous vegetables tend to be useful for reducing cancer risk and kale is a real powerhouse member of the family. There are other, non-cancer related health benefits associated with kale, like those summarized at https://factualfacts.com/kale-health-benefits/. A lot of people who have never tried it might have heard that kale has a strong taste but I strongly encourage you to avoid knocking it until you have tried it. In a recipe like this, it will probably end up tasting very mild.
Yes! I hope you love this Gene! Thank you!
This pasta is seriously life!! So flippin good! I’ve made this pasta so many times and every time it’s better than the last! Even my 6 year old loves it! I added the Argentinian shrimp from Trader Joe’s to this as well and it was AMAZING! I love this pasta!!!
I am so happy to hear that you love this! Thank you!!
thank you so much for share the recipe. tomorrow is my sister in law bday, my husban family is italian, we are spanish, obviously they love our food. but i reaaly would like to cook something different for the gets together, like a lobster dinner, with no pasta involve in the pool. and this is the exacly recipe i am making .very easy,fresh and healtly.
Awesome! I hope it turns out great and everyone loves it! Let me know how it goes ? Thank you Wendy!
Just made this! Came out great. I did steam my own lobsters, so that added to the process. Overall, fantastic recipe and great way to impress the GF on Valentine’s Day!
Thank you! Happy Valentines Day! 🙂
I’m making this for an anniversary dinner And praying it tastes delicious since it’ll be my first time making lobster! Your lobster presentation looks perfect! How do I go about removing the lobster after I’m done searing without completely mutilating it? And since the meat is only exposed on one side will it cook thru if I just sear it on the one side?
Hey Brittany,
I am sorry, I am a little confused as to what you are asking? If you just want to cook the lobster shell side down, that is fine, it will cook through, but make sure you cook it longer. Hope you guys love the meal and happy anniversary!
This was totally awesome. I/We loved it. I made it on Friday night and I am ready to have it again, very soon. Thank you for sharing!!!!
Hi Tieghan,
This looks amazing! I wanted to make this recipe for a dinner party I am throwing for my boyfriend’s birthday. He is a firm, firm, firm believer that seafood and cheese do not go together, he also doesn’t care for fontina cheese. I was thinking about subbing gruyere for fontina, as one of the other readers mentioned above… but was wondering if you thought the whole dish would be lacking something if I left out the cheese entirely?
Thanks so much for your help!
Hey Tara,
I think you can leave out these, no big deal! Either way, it will be delicious! hope you guys all love this!
Seriously, this looks amazing. I know what we are having for dinner this weekend!!!
Thank you! Hope you love it!
Holy crap. This was rich savory and bacon phenomenal. Anyone who is not following halfbakedharvest.com is missing a flavor explosion!
Thank you so much, Beth! I am SO happy you loved this dish!
Simply wow, photograph….
You’ve got a michelin star kitchen my friend, lucky you!
Thank you!
zomg Tieghan, this is absolutely stunning! I wish I could bite my monitor….
Thank you!
OMG. this is positively drool worthy!!
Thank you so much, Heather!! I still think about your Lobster Grilled cheese though! Need that!
HOLY CRAP woman! What are you doing to me! I want to INHALE this! It looks so absolutely perfect, I can’t even stand it!
Haha! Thanks Alaina! You are awesome!
This is SO gorgeous. I don’t even eat lobster and I want to eat this.
Ha! Thanks so much, Katie! The pasta underneath is pretty darn good on its own!