From Faith Middleton: Chomping at the bit, I'm already cruising lobster salad recipes, and I can't wait to share this one with you. It's got a kick from horseradish and a touch of Tabasco, but not too much to cancel out the briny rich lobster flavor.
I love this recipe, created by Jane Coxwell, author of Fresh Happy Tasty. Her clients crave delicious food without a crazy amount of calories. Jane's creative way to provide dishes like this earned her a fascinating position. While specializing as a "yacht chef," Diane von Furstenberg and husband Barry Diller tasted her food and hired her permanently as chef of the couple's yacht EOS.
Coxwell has traveled around the world on the EOS, using global flavors to enhance clean, fresh ingredients.
Here are two of the best recipes she does. In her lobster salad recipe, Jane buys only the tails so she doesn't have to deal with cleaning the whole crustacean, plus it's less expensive.
The crab, tomato and lemon spaghetti is killer. It's gluten-free if you use a gluten-free pasta, of course, and light from a yogurt, lemon and garlic sauce, a little like Greek Tsatsiki with fresh crabmeat added. Wonderful!
Lobster Quinoa
INGREDIENTS
(Serves 6)
6 Lobster tails, shell on, cut in half with kitchen scissors
Extra virgin olive oil
¼ cup sauvignon blanc or other dry white wine
1 fresh dill sprig
Maldon or other flaky salt
Freshly gournd black pepper
2 heaping cups uncooked quinoa
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
¼ cup good-quality mayonnaise
2 garlic cloves, minced
¼ red onion, finely chopped
4 teaspoons jarred prepared horseradish (not the sauce)
Tobasco sauce (just a few shakes or a lot of shakes)
juice of 1 lemon
1 handful fresh mint leaves, roughly chopped
1 handful fresh dill sprigs, roughly chopped (no big stems)
1 handful fresh flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped
squeeze of agave nectar
INSTRUCTIONS
- If you're not using cooked lobster tails, preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Place the lobster tails, olive oil, wine, dill and salt and pepper to taste in a foil pouch. Bake for a bout 20 minutes, checking after 15 minutes, until the lobster is just cooked through and opaque in the middle. Let cool.
- Cook the quinoa in boiling water for 15 minutes and drain. Return to the saucepan over low heat; stir for 1 minute with a wooden spoon to remove the excess water.
- Place the warm quinoa in a large glass bowl and mix in the tomatoes, mayonnaise, garlic, onion, horseradish, Tabasco, and lemon juice.
- While the lobster is still warm, add it to the quinoa, gently breaking up the lobster meat into manageable-size pieces. (If you have precooked lobster, break it up and add it here.) Mix in the herbs to that they all fuse together nicely and the flavors meld. The rough edges of the lobster will help it soak up the other flavors.
- Set aside to cool to room temperature of cover and refrigerate until you're ready to serve. Just before serving, add some more lemon juice, salt, pepper, and agave to balance.
Crab, Tomato and Lemon Spaghetti
INGREDIENTS:
(Serves 4)
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons finely chopped red onion
1 or 2 garlic cloves, minced
8 ounces spaghetti (or any other pasta)
2 cups picked fresh crabmeat
3 tomatoes, seeded and sliced
? cup plain yogurt
½ lemon
Maldon or other flaky salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 handful fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
INSTRUCTIONS:
- Heat the olive oil in a sauté pan over low heat. Add the onion and garlic and sweat for about 4 minutes, until softened but without color.
- Meanwhile, bring a saucepan of salted water to a boil and cook the spaghetti according to the package directions, then drain, reserving a scoopful of the cooking liquid.
- Add the crab and tomatoes to the sauté pan and gently sauté for 5 minutes over very low heat. Stir in the yogurt and remove from the heat. Season with a good squeeze of lemon and some salt and pepper. Give it a taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary.
- Add the pasta to the pan, along with a tablespoon of the cooking water to keep the sauce from getting too sticky. Add the parsley and serve.
Recipes from Fresh Happy Tasty: An Adventure in 100 Recipes by Jane Coxwell, published by William Morrow Cookbooks 2013.
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GUEST:
- Chris Prosperi is chef and owner of Metro Bis Restaurant in Simsbury, CT.
