Fregola all'Aragosta (Italian Sardinian Lobster Fregola) Fregola all'Aragosta is what the north west coast of Sardinia cooks when the lobster season opens. Toasted semolina pearls go into a pan with a stock drawn from the lobster heads and shells, and they take that stock up a ladle at a time, the way rice takes up broth, until they have released enough starch to bind the pan themselves. The meat returns at the very end. Nothing thickens the dish but the fregola, and nothing

Watermelon, Lobster, Fennel and Orange Salad (Insalata di Anguria, Aragosta, Finocchio e Arancia) This is a cold plate built on the most difficult summer ingredient there is. Watermelon is over ninety per cent water, held in cells that break the moment they are cut, salted or pressed. Handled badly it turns a composed salad into a pink puddle. Handled properly it gives sweetness, coolness and a clean snap. Around it sit three ingredients that demand precision. Mediterranean l

Astice al Burro Montato, Finocchio Brasato e Caviale Oscietra (Butter Poached Lobster with Braised Fennel and Oscietra Caviar) Three expensive things on one plate is usually a warning rather than a promise. Lobster, butter and caviar all carry fat, sweetness or salt in quantity, and thrown together they cancel each other out: the butter coats the palate, the caviar reads as pure salt, and the lobster vanishes. What holds this plate together is not any of the luxuries. It is t