Grilled Lobster Cobb Salad

Last Year's Post: Lemon Polenta Cake

Two Years Ago:  Hoisin Burgers with Wasabi Slaw

It's definitely salad time of the year, and this salad is an interesting twist on the usual Cobb salad that has chunks of chicken; it substitutes lobster meat instead, and grilled lobster at that.  The cooking technique in itself is interesting - remove the lobster meat from the shell and par-boil for a minute, then place on the grill for a minute per side while basting with butter to give the meat a nice smoky taste.  If you really wanted to give the salad a pronounced grill character you could also grill the tomatoes (using something larger than cherry tomatoes) and zucchini as well.  Grilled lobster meat, yum.

I found some beautiful baby Romaine leaves at the store, but you could always used chopped regular Romaine instead.  You can use whatever cheese you prefer and can always substitute other vegetables to suit your choice in addition to using shrimp or crab in place of the lobster.

Other than the lobster, the only other cooked ingredients are hard-boiled eggs (cook in advance) and a little chopped bacon (can also be cooked in advance).  After that, it's really just a matter of whisking the dressing, prepping the other ingredients, and assembly.  Easy, delicious, healthy, and kind of special......a perfect summer dinner.

printable recipe

Grilled Lobster Cobb Salad

Serves 2

Dressing:

1/2 shallot, finely chopped

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

1 1/2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1 ½ teaspoons sherry vinegar

2 ½ tablespoons walnut oil

1/4 cup vegetable oil

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Salad:

2 (5-6 oz) lobster tails, thawed if frozen

2 tablespoons butter, melted

3 strips bacon, chopped

½ small zucchini, chopped

1 ripe avocado

Juice of 1/2 a lemon

1 heart baby romaine, trimmed and leaves separated

2 hard-boiled eggs, chilled and sliced

1/4 pound red grape tomatoes, halved

2 ounces your favorite cheese, crumbled or diced

Salt

Dressing:

Combine shallot, Dijon, and vinegars in a large bowl and whisk well. While whisking, slowly drizzle in the oils until incorporated into the dressing. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Salad:

Bring a large pot of salted water to boil.  Preheat grill to high or preheat the broiler.  Remove the lobster meat from tail and parboil for 1 minute or until no longer translucent. Place lobster meat on the grill basting with butter just long enough to get a little grill flavor (about 1 minute per side). If cooking indoors, broil until lightly golden.  Remove lobster from the grill and cut into cubes.

Cook the bacon until crisp. Drain on a paper towel lined plate and set aside.

Halve the avocado, discard the seed, score the flesh into chunks and scoop out into a small bowl. Toss with lemon juice.

 Arrange half of the romaine leaves on each serving plate and drizzle with some of the dressing.  Add the toppings in strips on top, starting on one end with the bacon, egg, tomato, lobster, zucchini, cheese, and avocado. Drizzle the remaining dressing on top.