Poor Man’s Lobster Salad

Ingredients

• 1 lobster weighing approximately 1 kg, or 2 smaller lobsters of around 500 g each
• 500 g boiled potatoes
• 1 large, ripe salad tomato
• ½ red onion
• 2 hard-boiled eggs
• Mixed salad leaves and rocket (traditionally, romaine lettuce was used)
• Olives and piparras peppers (optional)
• Alioli or mayonnaise (optional)

For the dressing:

• Extra virgin olive oil
• Lemon
• Tap de Cortí paprika
• Salt

Method

Boil the lobster in seawater—or, if unavailable, in salted water—for approximately twelve minutes from the moment the water reaches a rolling boil. Once cooked, immediately transfer it to ice water to stop the cooking process and preserve its texture.

When the lobster has cooled, separate the head from the tail and carefully extract as much meat as possible. Slice the tail meat and reserve the liver, roe and coral, if using a female lobster. Keep the legs aside for the final presentation.

Next, prepare the dressing. Emulsify extra virgin olive oil—ideally from Menorca—with salt, Tap de Cortí paprika, a few drops of lemon juice and the lobster’s own coral and juices. The result is an intense, deeply maritime vinaigrette that gives the dish its distinctive character.

Assemble the salad in layers, alternating the various ingredients and seasoning each layer so that all the flavours blend harmoniously. Finally, decorate with the lobster legs, hard-boiled eggs cut into quarters or halves, olives, piparras and, if desired, small dollops of alioli or mayonnaise. The fishermen of Baixamar traditionally finished the dish with strips of roasted red pepper served cold, adding colour and a delicate sweet contrast.

Recipe de Biel Cardona Capella