Lobster Roll Salad

A lobster roll is a perfect thing. The sweet tender lobster, the cool creamy dressing, the little confetti of celery, the buttery toasted bun — I would never insult it by suggesting it needs fixing. I am from New England after all…

But sometimes I want all of that on a weeknight, in a bowl, with enough green in it that I feel good going back for more. So I took everything I love about a lobster roll and rebuilt it as a salad. The best part? I don’t devour it in 2 seconds.

And I mean I created a lobster roll as a salad literally. The dressing is a thinned-out mayo brightened with fresh lemon and a genuinely aggressive amount of chives. The veg is finely diced, exactly the way you’d want it inside a proper lobster salad roll, so every bite gets a little crunch and a little sweetness. And instead of skipping the bun, I tear a brioche hot dog bun into pieces and toast it into crisp, golden croutons that taste like the best part of the roll. Toss it all together and I promise you — it tastes like a lobster roll with some extra texture. It just happens to come in a bowl.

Chop small, on purpose. The celery, tomatoes, and cucumber should be finely diced — think lobster-roll-filling small, not big salad chunks. Now, I do not typically add tomato and cucumber to my lobster salad rolls, BUT this is a salad after all. And the addition of them makes it its own dish. This is the whole trick. Little pieces mean the flavor distributes and every bite tastes balanced instead of like you’re eating an uninvited wedge of cucumber that wandered in.

Make your own mayo if you’re feeling it. I almost always make my own mayonnaise for lobster dishes — it’s silkier, it’s clean tasting, and if you are going to spend money on lobster then I think it deserves a little extra treatment. It’s genuinely a five-minute job once you get the rhythm of drizzling and whisking. I’ve put the recipe at the bottom, so it’s there if you want it and easy to skip if you don’t. Store-bought is completely welcome here too, and if you want my recommendation I buy Chosen Foods Avocado Oil Mayonnaise.

Serve the dressing on the side. I like to divide it into two little dishes and let everyone dress their own bowl. It keeps the croutons crisp and lets you go as heavy or as light as you like, and there is an option to use half Greek Yogurt in the dressing, but I will state that it slightly changes the flavor. I am not a huge mayo person, but when it comes to a lobster roll nothing competes in my opinion.

Fifteen minutes to make, it serves two, and tastes like summer in New England. Let’s go.

Time: 15 minutes
Serves: 2

For the dressing:

• ¼ cup mayonnaise (or sub ½ Greek yogurt)

• ¼ cup chopped fresh chives

• 1 tsp lemon zest

• 2 tsp Dijon mustard

• 3–4 tbsp water

• ½ tsp salt

• Pepper to taste

• 4 tsp olive oil

For the salad:

• 1 brioche hot dog bun, torn into small pieces

• Olive oil

• 2 large romaine hearts, cleaned and chopped

• 3 mini cucumbers, finely diced

• 3 celery sticks, finely diced

• ¾ cup cherry tomatoes, finely diced

• 1 ripe avocado, sliced

• ¾ lb cooked lobster meat

Optional homemade mayonnaise

*Makes about 1 cup*

• 1 egg yolk

• 1 tbsp Dijon mustard

• 1 cup avocado oil (or another neutral oil)

• Juice of ½ lemon

• ¼ tsp salt

• Pepper to taste

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F.

2. Make the dressing. Add all the dressing ingredients *except the water* to a small dish or jar and mix to combine. For thinner consistency, add water, 1 tablespoon at a time until you reach desired consistency. Set aside.

3. Toast the bread. Add the torn pieces of brioche to a sheet pan, drizzle with olive oil, and toss to coat. Toast in the oven for 8–12 minutes, flipping halfway, until golden and crisp.

4. Prep the rest. Make sure your romaine is chopped, your avocado is sliced, and the cucumber, celery, and tomatoes are all finely diced.

5. Build the bowls. Fill two bowls with half the lettuce each, then top each with half the cucumber, celery, avocado, tomato, croutons, and lobster.

6. Dress and serve. Divide the dressing in half, and serve on the side so everyone can dress their own bowl.

How to make the homemade mayonnaise

If you’re going the homemade route, here’s how:

1. Add the egg yolk and mustard to a mixing bowl and whisk until smooth.

2. Drizzle the avocado oil into the bowl while whisking constantly, keeping the mixture smooth the whole time. Take short breaks from adding oil to let yourself catch up and whisk — the goal is no visible oil pooling. Once it’s smooth, continue drizzling and whisking.

3. When you’ve added about half the oil, whisk in 1 teaspoon of lemon juice. Continue with the oil, then add another teaspoon of lemon juice, and repeat until both the oil and lemon are fully incorporated — whisking at all times.

4. Season to taste with salt and pepper and whisk to combine. Store in a small airtight container, covered and refrigerated, for up to 3 days.

*Made this one? Reply and tell me — did you go store-bought or did you whisk your own mayo like a maniac like me?

Build boldly. Finish bright.

— Caitlin