Lovely summer lobster salad

This will take 1 hour-1.5 hours-ish (a lot of this time is for cooling the lobster and mayonnaise, so not active cooking time), and serves 4 as a starter

I had never cooked lobster ahead of this dish. But, I got talking to the fish guy at the Maltby Street Market, and it turned out he had one destined for me. Most of his seafood is ordered ahead, but he had this extra, little lobster, a tiny half-kilo. A good starter lobster I decided, so I bought him.

As I walked around the rest of Maltby market and was sitting on the tube home, I found myself talking to him. I would peek in the bag to check on him and make sure he was ok. I called him baby.

I half-joked that I was debating filling my bathtub with water and salt and keeping him as a pet. Reality struck when my friend Sidd alerted me to the fact my day was beginning to mirror a Simpson’s episode; the one where Homer buys a lobster, names him Pinchy and keeps him as a pet. You can see some clips here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Un7nBbSet0

I ended up cooking mine.

Isn’t he beautiful when done!

I turned him into a lovely lobster salad – summery and rich, creamy and sweet. This salad is delicious!

You will need:

1. 1 head endive/chicory

• Wash and separate 8 leaves

2. Tail meat only of one half-kilo lobster

To prepare the lobster, put in a pot and pour over boiling water to cover. Boil for 8 minutes, then drain and cool. Chop the meat finely and season.

3. For the mayonnaise:

• 1.5 oz groundnut oil
• 1/2 lemon
• 1 egg yolk
• Salt and pepper to taste

Put the yolk, salt and pepper in small bowl, squeeze in the juice of the half of lemon. Blend with a hand blender until mixed well. Pour in the oil slowly while blending. Refrigerate.

4. For salad

• 2 tbsp mayo from above
• 1 pink lady apple (or other sweet over tart apple, the sweetness is necessary) – about 1 cup finely chopped
• 1 small bulb fennel – about 1 cup finely chopped
• ½ tsp finely chopped tarragon
• ½ tsp finely chopped feathery fennel tops
• Juice of ½ lemon
• Salt and pepper to taste
• ¼ tsp finely chopped shallots

Put all the salad ingredients and lobster in a bowl. Add as much mayonnaise as desired and stir together.

Spoon the salad into the endive leaves and arrange 3 per plate.