Warm Lobster Potato Salad With Truffled Mayonnaise Recipes

LOBSTER & POTATO SALAD

Steps:

• Place the potatoes in a large pot and cover with water by 1 inch. Add 1 tablespoon salt and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for 15 to 25 minutes, depending on the size of the potatoes, until just tender. (I use a small bamboo skewer to test them.) Drain in a colander, cover the colander with a clean kitchen towel, and allow the potatoes to steam for 5 to 10 minutes. Cut them in quarters or halves, depending on their size, and place them in a large bowl.
• Meanwhile, whisk together the vinegar, mustard, garlic, egg yolk, 2 teaspoons salt and 1 teaspoon pepper. While whisking, slowly pour in the olive oil, making an emulsion. Stir in the wine and capers. While the potatoes are still very warm, pour half the vinaigrette on the potatoes and toss them gently, allowing them to soak up the vinaigrette. Stir in the scallions, celery, red onion and lobster and add enough vinaigrette to moisten. Reserve any remaining vinaigrette. Add the zest and juice of the lemon, the tarragon, 2 teaspoons salt and 1 teaspoon pepper and toss carefully. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour to allow the flavors to blend. Taste for seasonings and add more vinaigrette, if necessary. Serve at room temperature.

SHORECOOK'S POTATO SALAD WITH MAYONNAISE DRESSING

Steps:

• Place potatoes into a large pot and cover with water; add salt and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until potatoes are tender when pierced with a fork, about 30 minutes. Drain and set aside until cool enough to touch, but still warm.
• Peel potatoes and cut into chunks. Place in a bowl and add eggs and onion. Mix in mayonnaise, celery salt, and pepper until well combined. Refrigerate until flavors have melded, about 1 hour. Serve chilled.

LOBSTER WITH MAYONNAISE

Steps:

• Fill a pan with lukewarm water and place over high heat. Place the lobster in the pan and cover. Once the water has come to the boil, cook the lobster for ten minutes or until it no longer has any blue hue and has turned a deep red-orange color. Remove the lobster from the pan and leave to cool.
• Once cool you can prepare the lobster in the traditional manner: with a sharp knife make an incision at the point where the head joins the body and cut down the length of the lobster towards the tail. Make sure that you have cut right the way through the body. Now turn the lobster 180 degrees and cut from the original incision back through the head. With you fingers gradually prise the shell apart so that it falls into two halves. Remove the front claws and set aside. With your index finger prise the meat out of the shell (trying to keep it in one piece, again working from the tail upwards. Replace the meat in the shell (this process makes it easier for your guests to keep their fingers clean) and repeat with the second half. Using a cleaver or hammer crack both sides of the claws. Remove the surrounding shell and extract the meat in a single piece. Arrange the two halves of lobster on a plate together with the claw meat and serve with mayonnaise, which you can make in the following way:
• Put eggs, mustard, pinch of salt, grinding of pepper and a small squeeze of lemon juice/vinegar in a basin and beat well with a wooden spoon, beater or whisk. Start adding the oil, drop by drop to begin with, stirring all the time. When the mixture starts to emulsify you may add more oil in steady dribblets but keep stirring until you get the required jelly-like substance, which is the consistency that proper mayonnaise should be. Finally test for more seasoning. Refrigerate until ready to use.

WARM LOBSTER SALAD

Steps:

• 1. Kill the lobsters and poach them according to the directions in Poaching Lobster (do not shell the tail meat). Shell the claw meat and cut it lengthwise into 1/4-inch-wide strips. Using heavy kitchen shears, cut away the legs and the thin shell that covers the underside of the tail meat. Cut the tails, with the meat still adhering to the shell, on the diagonal into 1/2-inch-wide slices. Refrigerate the lobster meat.
• 2. Put the lobster stock in a saucepan and bring it to a boil over high heat. Lower the heat slightly and simmer, skimming occasionally, until the stock has reduced to 1/3 cup, about 10 minutes. Put the sauce in a bowl and let it cool slightly. Whisking constantly, slowly drizzle in the vinaigrette. (The recipe can be made to this point up to several hours ahead; refrigerate the sauce).
• 3. To serve, preheat the oven to 550 degrees. Spread the lobster on a baking sheet in a single layer and season it with salt and pepper. Spoon 1/4 cup of the sauce over the lobster. Put the rest in a small saucepan and warm it gently over low heat. Put the lobster in the oven just until warmed through, about 1 minute.
• 4. Put the mesclun in a bowl and toss with the shallot, tarragon, and lemon juice. Toss with 6 tablespoons of the sauce. Mound the salad in the center of 4 dinner plates. Arrange the lobster tail slices in a circle around the salad, with the crescent backs of the shells facing the rim of the plate. Scatter the claw meat over the salad.
• 5. Spoon the remaining sauce over the tail slices and top each one with a small sprig of chervil. Put a large sprig of chervil on top of each salad and serve immediately.