Grilled Lobster Tails with Stelline and Lemon

The first Valentine’s Day I spent with my husband, David, was in New York. We had just started dating, and after a long run of being single, I was excited to embrace the romantic occasion. For me, this meant dreaming up a seductive meal. Back in those days, I had the time to subway around the city curating fanciful ingredients. There was an Italian market for pink beet gnocchi, a fancy butcher for hanger steaks, and a cheese pilgrimage to the West Village. I simmered a Jean-Georges Vongerichten red-wine-and-shallot reduction, carved beet slices into hearts (!), and splurged on Sancerre. (Looking back on my proclivity for all things cute, it’s a wonder I didn’t shape marzipan into cupids and unicorns.)This Valentine’s Day marks our 19th year together. In that time, we’ve built a life that includes two marvelous children, spoiled cats, and two new pups. We are fantastically busy in the luge ride of life: opening bakeries; writing cookbooks; and chauffeuring kids to Scouts, guitar lessons, and theater performances. But I haven’t lost my fondness for whimsy. In fact, it’s more important than ever to find deep pleasure and delight in small things that can make a day—and a meal—more special.That’s one of the reasons I love grilling lobster tails. It’s a simple step that takes the ingredient to the next level: Lobster tails are at their most delicious when the sweet, luxurious meat absorbs a whiff of smoke. Paired with smoky grilled lemon halves, the lobster is exceptionally delicious over small, pebbly pasta like stelline (star-shaped pasta typically served in broths), which provides a tender contrast that’s fun to eat and soaks up the buttery juices. Fragrant fresh oregano is delicious in the mix, but feel free to use your favorite soft herb. Do deploy plenty of freshly ground black pepper and Pecorino Romano, and taste for salt just before serving. Grilled asparagus or haricots verts (or both!) could easily join the party, but this meal needs nothing more than a steely white wine (and possibly Limonata for the kids, if present) and a table of those you hold most dear. The meal is definitely cheaper than any contrived Valentine’s Day prix fixe you might find.And as for whether to include a single long-stemmed rose and a giant strawberry that’s thinly sliced and fanned out like a sheepish apology? I leave that entirely up to you.—Paula Disbrowe

By

Paula Disbrowe

Paula Disbrowe

Paula Disbrowe is a writer, recipe developer, and award-winning cookbook author based in Austin, Texas. Her stories have taken her across the globe on food and travel adventures, from Alaska to French Polynesia to Scotland to Florida’s Forgotten Coast. Paula’s work appears in The New York Times, Bon Appetit, Delta Sky, Food52, Cooking Light, and Southern Living, among others.

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Updated on August 2, 2023

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