lobster “roll”  California style
(mille-feuille de homard à la Californie)

serves 4

what you need:

lobster 
4 lobster tails 
1 cup seafood stock
½ cup dry white wine
1 sachet (1 bay leaf, fresh Italian parsley, fresh cilantro, black peppercorns, 1 strip lime peel)

salad
1 ripe avocado, thinly sliced
1-2 apples, thinly sliced, seeds removed
1 Asian pear, thinly sliced, seeds removed
1-2 cucumbers, thinly sliced
1-2 tomatoes (preferably Green Zebra), sliced
1 shallot, thinly sliced

dressing
2 teaspoon gros sel de Guérande (or sea salt)
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
⅓ cup olive oil
¼ cup avocado
¼ cup fresh cilantro leaves
1 tablespoon fresh minced Italian parsley
pinch piment d’espelette
freshly ground black pepper (as needed)

garnish
pinch piment d’espelette
pinch minced fresh Italian parsley

how to: 

• Cook Lobster Tails. Place wine, stock, and sachet in a large pot over medium heat. Let it simmer for 15 minutes. Turn the heat up and bring to a boil. Add tails. Cover pot with a lid and reduce heat. Cook lobster tails for about 5 minutes until the shells are bright red. Remove the tails from the pot with tongs and set aside to cool.  

• Remove from Shell/Slice. When cool enough to touch, use kitchen shears to cut the underside of the tail. Carefully remove lobster tails from their shell. Using a sharp knife, slice the tails into thin medallions (as shown). The tails can be cooked in advance and kept in the refrigerator for a couple of days (assuming the tails are fresh). 

• Prepare Dressing. Place all of the dressing ingredients (avocado, olive oil, salt, lime juice, parsley, cilantro, and piment) into a bowl and use an immersion blender or small food processor to blend to a smooth consistency. The dressing can also be prepared in advance and stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator. 

• Dress Lobster. Add dressing to the lobster medallions. Toss to incorporate.

• Prepare Fruit. Using a chef’s knife or a mandolin, carefully slice the apples, pears, and cucumbers. Use a chef’s knife to thinly slice the shallot and avocado. Use a serrated knife to slice the tomato.

• Assemble. Arrange a few slices of apple, pear, cucumbers, avocado, and/or shallots on a plate creating your first layer. Take a scoop of lobster salad and place on top. Add a second layer of apple slices and tomato on top of the lobster then add another loser salad layer. Add a third layer of sliced fruit as desired.

• Garnish. Garnish with a piece of fresh cilantro, minced parsley, and a pinch of ground pepper and piment. 

• Serve. Serve cold on a chilled plate.

• (Alternative Assembly). Instead of creating a layered salad, you can simply dice or slice the tomato, apple, pear, and avocado and mix it with the sliced lobster dressing (and yes, you can put it in a bread roll if you choose).