This beautiful black pasta seafood dish is made from squid ink pasta, broiled lobster tails coated in butter & herbs, steamed mussels in a white wine broth with cherry tomatoes and topped with toasted lemon pancetta breadcrumbs. The black pasta gives off that dark and mysterious feel which sets the tone especially in October and with Halloween right around the corner it makes for a fun little dinner treat for the family or a nice romantic date night.

Loaded with fresh mussels steamed in a delicious white wine broth made with green onions and garlic. We then use the broth as our based for the sauce with hints of pancetta, lemon and cherry tomatoes. The sauce is so tasty it makes you want to dip your bread right in and soak up all those delicious flavors. Doesn’t this dish make you want to dive right in? We’re obsessed with the colours, and the flavour combination is so darn tasty we couldn’t help but go for seconds!

Let’s talk about Squid ink pasta for a second. It sounds a little ridiculous and out there which may seem like such a novelty, but it really serves no purpose beside its black colour. It’s like buying any other pasta except you get the cool black colour.

If you make fresh squid ink pasta on the other hand you’ll get a taste of some of its briny flavour. If you’re like us though, you’ll opt for the store bought pasta because all we really care about is the stunning presentation! If your local grocery store doesn’t carry squid ink pasta you can always order it from Amazon, they have lots of options and quick deliver so you might only need to plan 2-3 days ahead.

This is a beautifully coloured and very flavourful dish to serve on special occasions. It’s a great dish to serve at a Halloween gathering or date night at home. Seafood is so beautiful in presentations, it’s romantic and of course is guaranteed to impress your guest! Serve alongside a delicious glass of wine and put on your favorite Halloween scary movie!

If you love seafood, you will most certainly enjoy this dish. Don’t skip the breadcrumbs, it really ties everything together.

We hope you enjoy this recipe! If you give this recipe a try, let us know! Tag us on Instagram! We love to see what you come up with. #thecommunalfeast

Print Recipe

SQUID INK PASTA WITH LOBSTER & MUSSELS IN WHITE WINE

This beautiful black pasta seafood dish is made from squid ink pasta, broiled lobster tails coated in butter & herbs, steamed mussels in a white wine broth with cherry tomatoes and topped with toasted lemon pancetta breadcrumbs. The black pasta gives off that dark and mysterious feel which sets the tone especially in October and with Halloween right around the corner it makes for a fun little dinner treat for the family or a nice romantic date night.

Prep Time25 minutes mins

Cook Time20 minutes mins

Total Time45 minutes mins

Course: Mains

Servings: 4

Author: the communal feast

Ingredients

• 1 pound squid ink pasta
• 6 tbsp butter
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• ½ cup panko breadcrumbs
• 1 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1-2 pounds mussels rinsed and beards removed if any (can use frozen store bought)
• lemon zest
• 1 pint cherry tomatoes cut in half
• 1/2 cup cubed pancetta
• 2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
• ½ salt
• 2-4 lobster tails preferably fresh, if frozen make sure you allow time to defrost
• 8 cloves of garlic -minced
• 1 ½ cup dry white wine
• 1/2 cup chopped green onion
• 1/2 cup chicken broth or seafood broth
• 1 chicken bouillon cube
• Juice from 1 lemon
• Salt & pepper to taste
• Baguette to serve -optional
• Garnish:
• Fresh chopped parsley
• Grated Parmesan

Instructions

• 1. Bring a large pot of heavily salted water to a boil.
• 2. In a large pot, big enough to toss your pasta cook the pancetta until crisp. Place cooked pacetta on a paper towel to remove access grease, dump access grease from the pot.
• 3. In a separate pan, heat 1 tbsp of butter over medium heat, add the panko breadcrumbs and toast until golden brown. Remove from heat and add to a bowl. To the bowl, add ½
  tsp red pepper flakes, lemon zest, 1/2 pancetta crumbs, chopped parsley and a pinch of salt & pepper. Whisk to combine and set aside for serving
• 4. Rinse and remove beards from the mussels, if any of the shells remain open or do not
  fully close when rinsing, discard as these are dead. In a large covered saucepan on medium-high heat,melt 2 tablespoons of butter, next add 3 gloves of minced garlic and chopped onions. Cook for 2-3 minutes stirring occasionally. Add ½ cup white wine, 1/3 cup of chicken broth or seafood broth, bouillon cubes and cook for 1 minutes. Add the mussels, lower the heat to simmer and cover with a lid. Cook until the mussels open up, stirring occasionally. Once the mussels are ready, stir in lemon juice (1/2 lemon squeezed), add 1 tablespoon of butter and 1/2 cup of heavy cream. Give everything a good stir. Turn the heat off and set aside. If using store bought frozen mussels simply follow the instructions and set aside
• 5. While the mussels are steaming, prepare the lobster tails. Set oven to broil high. Using kitchen sheers or scissors butterfly the tail by cutting down the center. You want to cut down the middle of the back towards the tail, shell side up. Flip the tail over and carefully pull apart the shell, place your fingers under the lobster meat, flip the lobster back over and carefully pull the lobster meat in one piece from the shell, leaving the bottom attached. Close the shell back up underneath and place the lobster meat overtop the shell. Whisk melted butter with garlic and parsley. Place lobster tails on a baking sheet and season with salt & pepper. Brush with melted butter and broil for about 4 minutes, more depending on size of tails. Once lobster is cooked, set aside.
• 6. To the same pot you cooked your pancetta, add the cherry tomatoes. Tomatoes will need about 4 minutes, stirring occasionally to heat and start to burst. Add remaining cloves of garlic and stir for 30 seconds. Next add 1/3 cup white wine to deglaze the pan. Add 1 tablespoon of butter and ladle 2 scoops of the broth from the mussels and simmer for 3 minutes.
• 7. Cook the pasta to al dente,
• 8. Add the cooked pasta to the sauce. Keep stirring the pasta until it is coated with the sauce. Add lemon zest and lemon juice to the pan. If you need more sauce simply add more of the broth from the mussels to the pan. Add the mussels and chopped lobster tail meat and remaining pancetta to the pan.
• 9. Cook stirring frequently 2-3 minutes or until the pasta is coated with the sauce. Season and taste.
• 10. Serve immediately
  
• Garnish pasta with toasted lemon bacon breadcrumbs, chopped fresh parsley and freshly grated Parmesan,serve with fresh bread.
•