Bella Blend Spaghetti all'Astice

A seafood dish built around Bella Blend, ready in about 28 minutes for 4 servings. Restaurant plating, weeknight timeline.

Ingredients

• 3 lobster tails (~6 oz each), meat removed and cut into 1-inch pieces (or substitute 1.5 lbs jumbo shrimp, 16/20 count, peeled and deveined)
• 12 oz spaghetti (bronze-cut if you can find it)
• Kosher salt for the pasta water (be generous)
• 6 tbsp unsalted butter (good butter — Kerrygold)
• 3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 4 garlic cloves, finely sliced (not minced)
• 1/2 cup dry white wine (Pinot Grigio is perfect)
• Juice and zest of 1 lemon
• 1/4 cup fresh Italian parsley, finely chopped
• 1 heaping tbsp SpiceX Bella Blend seasoning
• Red pepper flakes, to taste (optional)

Directions

1. Prep the seafood: cut the lobster tail meat into 1-inch pieces (or pat the shrimp dry). Season lightly with salt and set aside on the counter — cold seafood overshocks the sauce.
2. Boil the pasta: salt the water until it tastes like seawater. Cook the spaghetti 2 minutes less than the box says. Reserve 1 cup of pasta water before draining.
3. Build the base: in a wide pan over medium-low, melt 2 tbsp of the butter with the olive oil. Add the sliced garlic and the Bella Blend. Cook 90 seconds — soft, fragrant, golden. Do not brown the garlic.
4. Poach the seafood: add the seafood and pour in the wine. Bubble gently 2 to 3 minutes until just opaque and curled, then pull the seafood out with a slotted spoon — it finishes in the sauce later.
5. Mantecatura: add the drained pasta and 1/2 cup pasta water to the pan. Off the heat, add the remaining 4 tbsp cold butter, lemon juice, zest, and parsley. Toss vigorously for 60 seconds until the butter and starch emulsify into a silky golden sauce.
6. Finish and plate: fold the seafood back in for 30 seconds. Twirl a tight nest of spaghetti onto each plate, arrange the seafood around the base, spoon over the sauce, extra parsley on top. Eat immediately.

Chef's note: Never add cold butter to a hot pan over heat for the final emulsion. Pull the pan off the burner first — the residual heat melts the butter while keeping the fat from breaking. That single move is the difference between a silky restaurant sauce and a greasy home-cook sauce.

Nutrition per serving (serves 4): 612 calories · 34g protein · 68g carbs · 22g fat · 3g fiber · 780mg sodium. Macros estimated.