Ingredients:

  • 6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) butter
  • 2 10- to 12-ounce frozen lobster tails, thawed *
  • 8 ounces shiitake mushrooms, stemmed, thinly sliced—you can use a wild mushroom mix if preferred
  • 1/2 cup (packed) thinly sliced fresh basil
  • 6 green onions, thinly sliced
  • 3 garlic cloves, chopped
  • 1 1/3 cups whipping cream
  • 1 8-ounce bottle of clam juice
  • 12 ounces fettuccine noodles
  • 1/4 cup freshly grated Asiago cheese (about 1 ounce)

Directions:

Prepare the lobster:

  1. Melt butter in a large heavy skillet over medium-high heat.
  2. Add lobster tails and sauté until shells are bright red in spots, about 5 minutes.
  3. Cover skillet; reduce heat to low and cook until lobster is cooked through, about 6 minutes. Remove from heat.
  4. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the lobster to a work surface. Using a heavy large knife, cut each tail lengthwise in half. Remove meat from shell.
  5. Cut meat crosswise into 1/2-inch pieces.

Prepare the mushroom cream sauce:

  1. Return the same skillet to medium-high heat (do not clean).
  2. Add mushrooms, half of the basil, green onions, and garlic; sauté until mushrooms soften, about 5 minutes.
  3. Add cream and clam juice. Boil until sauce is slightly thickened, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes. Reduce heat to low.
  4. Add lobster (or shrimp if using) and simmer for 1 minute.
  5. Stir in the remaining basil. 
  6. Season sauce to taste with salt and pepper.

Putting it all together:

  • Meanwhile, cook pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until tender but still firm to bite. Drain well. Return to pot.
  • Pour sauce over pasta and add cheese; toss over low heat until warmed through, then serve.

Makes 4 servings.

* This can be prepared with 20 ounces of large raw shrimp instead of lobster, if you prefer. Peel and devein the shrimp, then sauté uncovered in butter until opaque in center, about three minutes. Cut each shrimp lengthwise in half.