So you’re driving through town and there’s a guy by the roundabout with a wheelbarrow full of live lobsters. You’d stop, right? Even if you’ve just come from the dock where you bought a load of swordfish straight off the boat. And your fisherman friend was stopping by later to drop off a wahoo he’d caught that morning. An embarrassment of briny riches. Anyway, I firmly believe there’s no such thing as too much fresh seafood.
Of course we had to stop. Bones and I bought a couple of two-pounders and the fisherman threw in another small one for free. I’ve been wanting to get my hands on a fresh lobster ever since I saw Lidia Bastianich make a Sardinian lobster salad on her wonderful show, Lidia’s Italy.
You know how a flavor combination gets stuck in your head sometimes, kind of like a silly pop song you heard on the radio? In this case, it was the pairing of celery leaf and lobster that took hold. I thought the slightly bitter celery leaves and the rich, sweet lobster would set each other off nicely. And they did. Very well indeed, I am happy to report.
Sardinian Lobster Salad
This is my take on Lidia’s lobster salad and it was glorious. Success depends upon the quality of your tomatoes and perfectly cooked lobster, which is another way of saying don’t use sad supermarket tomatoes and don’t overcook your lobster. Happily, this is the Caribbean and it’s always tomato season. And I got the lobster just right.
The potato was added because I had it on hand and because I was feeding the big guy. Served with good bread and a bottle of Chateau Montelena Chardonnay, it made a lovely, light supper for two.
1 live Caribbean spiny lobster, about 2 pounds
1 large potato, peeled and cut into chunks
2 ripe tomatoes
2 stalks celery, including the leaves
2 hard-boiled eggs, peeled
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil, the best you can get your hands on
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
a large pinch of dried hot red pepper flakes
salt
2 tablespoons chopped Italian parsley
First cook the lobster. Bring a large pot of well-salted water to the boil. Plunge the lobster head first into the boiling water and cover the pot. When the water comes back to the boil, cook the lobster until it’s a bright reddish orange color, about 12 minutes for a 2-pound lobster. Set the lobster aside until cool enough to handle. Cook the potato in the lobster water until cooked through. Drain the potato and place in a large bowl.
Slice the celery on a diagonal into 1/2-inch pieces and roughly chop the leaves. Please the celery and the tomato wedges in the bowl with the potato. Season with a little salt and stir gently to combine.
Remove the lobster meat from the shell. In a spiny lobster, most of the meat is in the tail and there’s also a choice morsel right at the base of the antennae. You can keep the tomalley and roe for the salad or discard it. None of us love it so I give it to the cat. This makes him happy and stops him climbing up my leg while I’m cleaning lobster. Don’t forget to save the shells for making stock. Cut the lobster meat into large pieces and add to the bowl with the tomato mixture.
Cut the eggs in half and remove the yolks. Chop the egg whites and add them to the salad. Put the egg yolks in a bowl and mash them with a fork. Add the lemon juice and stir to combine. Slowly whisk in the olive oil, add a generous pinch of hot pepper flakes and season to taste with salt. Add the dressing and the parsley to the salad and toss gently to combine. Serves 2.
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