This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
With Father’s Day coming up soon, I’ve been planning to treat my husband Jack to a really special meal, and this Lobster Sambuca Over Fettuccini fits the bill!
Jack is such a great father and husband. He’s a very hard worker – at his full-time job, around the house, and on this blog – and he’s a loving and devoted family man. He’s a true gentleman in every sense of the word, a great life partner, my best friend and sweetheart, and every day he makes me laugh! I can’t imagine my life without him in it!
And – as an extra bonus – he’s also a fantastic cook! (But you probably guessed that already if you’re a regular here at A Family Feast!) So while Jack loves to cook (and actually does most of the cooking at our home) – he really appreciates having a wonderful meal cooked for him.
This recipe for lobster Sambuca over fettuccini was inspired by a dish at one of our favorite restaurants, Tomatoes Italian Grille & Bar in Sandwich, MA. More often than not, whenever Jack and I ate dinner at this restaurant, he would order a Roman Wedge salad and their Lobster Romano – which was the inspiration for this recipe. Sadly, the Lobster Romano is no longer on the menu – so we set out to recreate this wonderful recipe at home!
Sambuca is a licorice flavored liquor made from the anise seed – and it’s a flavor that really complements the lobster! Added to a rich and creamy sauce flavored with a stock made from the lobster shells – this dish is quite simply AMAZING!
If the man in your life is a lobster lover, like mine, he’s sure to love this lobster Sambuca over fettuccini as much as Jack does!
We love seeing what you made! Tag us on Instagram at @afamilyfeast or hashtag #afamilyfeast so we can see your creations!
Lobster Sambuca Over Fettuccini
The steps below to cook the lobster and make the stock can be done up to a day in advance.
Ingredients
To Prepare the Lobster and Stock
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 cup rough cut peeled carrots
- 1 cup rough cut celery
- 1 cup rough cut onions
- 1/4 cup white wine
- 1 gallon water divided in half
- 1/4 cup parsley stems
- 1 clove smashed garlic
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/2 teaspoon celery salt
- 1 bay leaf
- 3 peppercorns
- 1 2–pound lobster
To Prepare the Final Dish
- 1/2 box fettuccini
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1/3 cup shallots minced
- 1/8 cup Sambuca
- 1/2 cup lobster stock
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1/4 cup shredded Romano cheese
Instructions
To Prepare the Lobster and Stock
- In a 10 quart heavy bottomed pot over medium heat, place olive oil, carrots, celery and onions and sauté for 10 minutes.
- Add wine and stir. Cook for one minute.
- Add ½ gallon of water, parsley stems, garlic, thyme, celery salt, bay leaf and peppercorns and bring to a boil.
- When mixture is at a full boil, place lobster in head first and cover. Set timer for 12 minutes. Keep flame just below high.
- Remove lobster to cool. Add remaining ½ gallon of water and slowly bring to a boil.
- While stock is coming to a boil, remove meat from tail, claws and knuckles. Place cooked lobster meat in the refrigerator.
- Remove roe sack, mouth area and other undesirable parts and discard. You should be left with shells from tail, claws and body cavity, along with legs and knuckle joints. Place all of those into the stock and bring to a full boil. Skim any foam that floats to the top.
- Lower flame to a low boil and cook uncovered for 90 minutes or more until you are left with 2 cups of stock. Strain through a fine sieve and discard solids. If you have more than two cups after you strain and discard the solids, place stock back on heat to reduce to two cups. Note, you will only be using 1/2 cup of stock for this recipe, the remainder can be frozen for future recipes.
To Prepare the Final Dish
- Roughly cut lobster meat into bite sized pieces.
- Cook fettuccini according to package directions.
- While pasta is cooking, in a large sauté pan over medium heat, melt butter in olive oil. Then add shallots and cook for 3-4 minutes until soft.
- Add zambuca to deglaze and cook until half of the liquid has evaporated.
- Add in the lobster stock and cook again until half the liquid has evaporated.
- Add parsley, heavy cream and Romano cheese. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper if needed. If you like this sort of dish creamier, add an extra cup of heavy cream, but this step is optional. You could also add more of the stock if you prefer a stronger flavor.
- Add cut up lobster meat and cooked fettuccini and toss to combine. Cook for one or two minutes to incorporate flavors.
- Transfer to serving plates or bowls and finish with a little more grated Romano and chopped parsley.
Last Step! Please leave a review and rating letting us know how you liked this recipe! This helps our business thrive & continue providing free recipes.
Notes
Leftover lobster stock can be frozen in zip lock bags for other recipes.
You may also like:
Came across this recipe and made it for my wife for Valentine’s Day. I sounded good and I’m also a fan of Tomatoes so said what the heck. It was awesome. I need to browse more of your website.
★★★★★
We’re glad you found us Eric – and we’re glad the recipe was a hit (especially for your wife’s Valentine’s Day dinner)! We have a fairly big selection of Italian recipes here: https://www.afamilyfeast.com/tag/italian/ Thanks for writing to us today!
Hi Martha, I live in Sandwich, Ma and go to Tomatoes Italian Grill a lot. Love the food. I will be trying your recipe for Lobster Sambuca. It sounds wonderful.
We love Tomatoes too Charlene! Sadly, they don’t serve the dish that inspired this recipe anymore…but at least we can make a very close version at home. Hope you enjoy it!
I am having trouble printing your recipes. Every time I hit “PRINT” about blank comes up and nothing prints. I have been printing other recipes and have no problem.
Hi Maggie – I’m so sorry for the trouble! The plugin we use to format our recipes (ZipList) is having compatibility issues printing in Internet Explorer and sometimes Chrome. If you are able to view our site using Firefox, you should be able to print the recipes without any issues. I am hoping this all gets fixed very soon and again, I’ve very sorry for the problems. Thanks for your interest in our recipes! Martha
I’m not a big lobster lover so, can I substitute the lobster for crawfish? If I use crawfish, do I need to substitute any of the other ingredients also?
Hi Annette – Although I’ve never made this recipe using crawfish, it’s simple and basic enough that it should work fine! Let us know how it comes out!
this looks fantastic love it.
Thanks Sophia!
God bless both of you! You are so fortunate to have each other. Thanks for the great recipes.
Thanks Kathleen!
Awww…you guys are making me cry! You are really lucky to have each other 🙂 This dish look absolutely amazing!!! Happy Father’s Day Jack!
Thanks Lisa! We are indeed very lucky! Thanks for stopping by!
Martha
This is Jack …When I first started to read this, I had to leave the room because it brought tears to my eyes. I have always dreamed of being a devoted husband and father like my father and my father’s father. I am truly lucky to have three wonderful children, a fantastic grandson and a wonderful wife who appreciates me and has made my dreams come true. Thank you honey for your kind words, I love you.
Love you too honey! xxx