Aragosta alla catalana
Alghero lobster with tomato and sweet onion
Sweet lobster, raw tomato, and softened onion make a cool salad in aragosta alla catalana. Olive oil and lemon gather the vegetables' juices around generous pieces of lobster.
In Alghero, the dish is tied to a coastal cuisine with a Catalan accent. Soaking the onion softens its bite; resting the finished salad lets the dressing mingle with the tomato juices.
This is special-occasion food, served in small portions. The clawless Mediterranean spiny lobster is prized for its firm, sweet flesh.
Ingredients
For the lobster and salad
- 1.0–1.2 kg(about 2¼–2⅔ lb)whole raw Mediterranean spiny lobster (aragosta; Palinurus elephas), preferably live; whole raw Caribbean spiny lobster (Panulirus argus) may be used if Mediterranean spiny lobster is unavailable (see note)
- 1medium sweet white onion, very thinly sliced
- 300 gripe but firm tomatoes, cut into thick wedges
- 15 ml(1 tbsp)white-wine vinegar, for the onion soak
For the dressing
- 80 ml(⅓ cup)extra-virgin olive oil
- 1lemon, juiced
- fine sea salt
Kitchen notes
- Aragosta, not astice
- The Alghero ingredient is Mediterranean spiny lobster (Palinurus elephas), called aragosta in Italian. It has no large claws. The North American clawed lobster is astice and is not a direct substitute. If true aragosta is unavailable, use only a whole raw Caribbean spiny lobster (Panulirus argus), another clawless spiny species; do not use a tail-only product. A 1–1.2 kg whole lobster yields only a small starter portion for four once the shell is removed.
- The dressing
- Some Alghero families add celery, parsley, pepper, or lobster roe. The onion uses vinegar only for its brief soaking bath; the finished dressing is oil, lemon, and salt.
Method
Soften the onion
- Put the sliced onion in a bowl of cold water with the vinegar and leave it for 20–30 minutes. Drain very well and dry on a clean towel. It should retain its snap but lose the raw, acrid bite.
Cook and cool the lobster
- Bring a pot large enough to hold the lobster to a rolling boil; the traditional cooking water is left unsalted. If buying live lobster, ask the fishmonger to dispatch it humanely if you do not wish to do that at home. Lower the lobster headfirst into the water and cook until the flesh is opaque and firm, about 20–25 minutes for a 1–1.2 kg lobster. Lift it out and cool completely before cleaning.
Extract the meat
- Split the cooled lobster lengthwise. Remove and discard the dark intestinal vein and liquid from the head, then extract the meat from the tail and leg shells. Cut it into neat, substantial pieces; keep the shell halves if you would like to use them as a serving bed. Avoid shredding the meat—the generous pieces are part of the dish's character.
Dress and rest
- Arrange the lobster, tomatoes, and drained onion on a chilled platter. Whisk the olive oil, lemon juice, and salt until lightly emulsified, then spoon it over everything and turn the lobster gently. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, preferably 1 hour, stirring once or twice so the juices and dressing meet. Serve cool, not ice-cold.