A trip to the local farmer’s market, farm stand, food coop or your own garden are often the inspiration for your best tasting meals. When I spy sun-ripened tomatoes, fragrant bouquets of herbs, succulent yellow squashes and bright green zucchini, zesty radishes and tasseled ears of sweet corn, my culinary senses start drooling. Such beautiful, delicious tasty and good-for-you food is like enjoying a work of art.
And when you add succulent and sweet Maine lobster, culinary speaking, Maine farms meet Maine fishes, it becomes is becomes a partnership that works wonderfully together. One of my favorite summer recipes for this matched pair is Garden Veggie, White Bean, and Maine Lobster Salad.
True confession: an adaptation of this formula won Chef Alan McGrath the Great Chef’s of Maine Lobster culinary competition one year. A culinary work of art, his creation was vibrant, colorful, crisp, sweet, intensely flavored, delicious and sensuous. I loved his salad, and all the possibilities.
When elegantly plated with herbs and flowers, this lobster salad is perfect for a festive lunch or supper. The components of the salad, chopped veggies, Maine lobster, and dressing are nutritionally dense. In jars, the meal packs up easily in a cooler, and travel safely to a picnic. Extra summer guests? No worries, as this salad expands easily to feed a crowd. Plus allows for plenty of creativity (aka lots of garden veggies and herbs), and always satisfies your company’s cravings for Maine lobster.
For the best flavor, I like to prepare the white bean and veggie part of the salad early in the day, allowing the zippy taste of the dressing to marinate a bit. Using a wide variety of perfectly ripe vegetables and colorful fresh herbs will entice both the eye and the palate. Cutting the vegetables into evenly sized pieces is important to the texture of the dish, which elevates the sensory experience.
Enjoy what summer has to offer, and create your own work of art!
Garden Veggie, White Bean, & Maine Lobster Salad with Garlic Scape & Lemon Dressing
Ingredients
SALAD INGREDIENTS:
- 1 cup whole kernel corn fresh or frozen
- 1 15 ounce can white beans drained and rinsed
- 2 garlic cloves finely chopped
- ½ cup diced scallions or finely chopped shallots
- 4– 6 cups cups garden veggies cut into even bite-sized pieces:
- Red yellow or green bell peppers
- Summer squash zucchini, cucumber
- Salad turnips kohlrabi, radish
- Green or yellow beans baby carrots
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
- 12 ounces Maine lobster meat cut into bite-sized pieces
- Ripe red tomatoes or cherry tomatoes cut into wedges, for garnish
- Nasturtium blossoms and basil blossoms for garnish
- 3-6 cups salad greens to line the plates or platter
- ¾ cup Garlic Scape & Lemon Vinaigrette
VINAIGRETTE INGREDIENTS:
- ½ cup water
- Juice and zest of 1 lemon
- or ¼ cup lemon juice & 2 – tablespoons lemon zest
- 1 tablespoon grainy mustard
- ½ cup roughly chopped garlic scapes
- ¼ cup rice wine vinegar
- ¾ cup extra virgin olive oil
- Maine sea salt and fresh pepper to taste
Instructions
- Assemble ingredients and tools.
TO PREPARE THE GARLIC SCAPE & LEMON VINAIGRETTE
- Grate the lemon and squeeze the juice. Set aside.
- Roughly chop the garlic scapes into 1-inch pieces or smaller. Set aside.
- Add the water, lemon zest and lemon juice. grainy mustard, garlic scapes and rice wine vinegar to the bowl of your blender.
- Blend on low speed until the garlic scapes have been finely chopped.
- Slowly add the olive oil and increase the speed. Blend for about 1 minute on high speed. Taste the dressing and season with Maine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Store in the refrigerator.
- Yield: about 2 cups dressings, or16 servings
- Nutritional analysis per 2 tablespoons dressing: 94 calories, 1 gram carbohydrate, 10 grams fat, 100 mg. sodium, less than 1 gram fiber.
TO PREPARE THE SALAD:
- Drain and rinse the beans. Add to a large bowl. Add the corn to the bowl.
- Cut the garden veggies into bite-sized cubes. Mince the scallion or shallot and add to the bowl.
- Finely chop the parsley and add to the bowl.
- Cut the lobster meat into bite-sized pieces and add to the bowl.
- Add about ½ cup Garlic Chive & Lemon Vinaigrette, stir the veggies and lobster meat gently. Taste for seasonings.
- Line a platter or six individual plates with salad greens. Scoop the salad onto the greens. Garnish the plates or platter with fresh tomatoes, nasturtium blossoms, and herb blossoms.
- Serve the salad with additional vinaigrette in the pitcher on the side.