Ingredients

Before you start

Keep the serving dishes in the oven at the lowest setting so they are warm when you serve.

Put a colander in the sink to drain the cooked pasta so that it will be ready when needed.

Method

1. Remove the elastic bands from the claws and plunge one lobster, head-first, into a large pot of salted boiling water, with the tail tucked underneath (to avoid being splashed by the tail). Loosely cover the pot and cook the lobsters over moderately high heat until the shell turns red. From the time the water comes to a boil again, plan to cook 5 min for a 500 g lobster (add 1 min for each additional 100 g). Transfer the lobsters with tongs to a sink to drain and cool. Obviously, this step is skipped if starting with a cooked lobster.
2. When the lobsters are cool enough to handle, twist off the claws and crack them, then remove the meat. Halve the lobsters lengthwise with a large knife or poultry shears, beginning from the tail end, then remove the tail meat. Cut all the lobster meat into bite-size pieces then set them aside.
3. Cook the pasta.
4. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat. Sweat the finely chopped onion, 2-3 min taking care not to let it burn. Add the tomatoes, the minced chili pepper and parsley and garlic base. Cook uncovered, with occasional stirring. Add salt and pepper to taste.
5. Add the lobster meat and pasta cooking water, to dilute the sauce a bit.
6. Drain the spaghetti and pour them over the sauce. Toss gently, sprinkle with the optional parsley, then serve in the warmed dishes.