Lobster Salad with Charred Corn and Tomatoes

An elegant summer splurge - lobster salad with smoky charred corn and juicy tomatoes. (Skip to recipe.)

What do you do when you come home from a fancy dinner with two dripping boiled lobsters in a plastic bag?

You thank your lucky stars for the gift and make a lovely, summery, lobster salad.

Because here in landlocked northern Alberta, any kind of fresh seafood is a treat to be celebrated. Since our lobsters need to be flown in from the east coast, they are a delicacy reserved for special occasions. I find it funny to think that lobster used to be a food for the poor in coastal regions, fed to indentured servants and prison inmates (much to their displeasure) and we consider it such a luxury food now. What would they have thought if they'd heard the exorbitant price we pay for a few chunks of that spiny crustacean's sweet flesh?

As to why we came home with two boiled lobsters? We attended the Rotary fundraising Lobsterfest and auction in Spruce Grove  a couple weeks ago, and rather than deal with the messy lobsters at the dinner, they serve a tasty buffet, then send every guest home with a cooked lobster in a bag at the end of the evening. No complaints here - we had this delicious lobster salad to enjoy the next day.

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Kitchen Frau Notes: If your lobsters are not already cooked, bring a large stock pot of water to a boil. Drop the live lobsters into the boiling water (you can place them into the freezer for an hour first to numb them, if you are bothered by boiling them live). Start timing as soon as the lobsters hit the pot, and boil for seven minutes for the first pound (454gms) plus three minutes for every pound after that.

The 10 -12 minutes recommended in the video link below is too long for small lobsters - I know from experience - and the lovely, and very expensive, lobster meat can get tough and chewy. (We splurged on a feed of  smallish lobsters for our daughter's graduation and learned our lesson; next time - seven minutes!)

The fleshy, oblong Roma or Italian tomatoes work best for this lobster salad, since they are much less watery than regular tomatoes. If you can't find Roma tomatoes, use regular tomatoes, but cut them in half crosswise first, and remove most of the seeds and juice.

Summer Lobster Salad with Charred Corn and Tomatoes

• meat from 2 cooked lobsters (about 12 oz/350gms)
• 2 cups corn kernels (about 3 medium cobs)
• 4 large roma/Italian plum tomatoes (about 1 lb/450gms)
• ½ cup (120ml) sliced chives or green onions
• ½ cup (120ml) good quality mayonnaise
• ¼ cup (60ml) Greek yogurt
• grated rind of half a lemon
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon pepper

Remove the meat from the lobsters. (See this video on how to remove lobster meat easily.) Cut the lobster meat into bite-sized chunks.

Char the corn. If using fresh whole cobs, barbecue them, turning the cobs until there are char marks on each side. If using frozen kernels, defrost the kernels (you can run cold water over them in a strainer until they are defrosted) and drain them well. Dab them dry with a paper towel to remove as much moisture as possible. Then toast them, without oil, in a heavy skillet (like cast iron) set over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until a good portion of the kernels have dark brown spots on them.

Let cool and add to the lobster meat in a large bowl.

Core and dice the tomatoes into bite-sized pieces. Cut the chives or green onions. Add them to the lobster and corn.

In a small bowl, stir together the mayonnaise, yogurt, lemon zest, lemon juice, salt and pepper.

Add to the salad ingredients, and toss gently to coat everything with dressing. Chill if desired, or serve right away, garnished with more chopped chives or green onions. Serve with extra lemon wedges.

Serves 4.

 

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