Serves: 4

• Ingredients

2 lb freshly boiled and shelled lobster. (See how to boil lobsters here)
2 tbsp mayonnaise
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 stalk celery very finely chopped
4 toasted brioche buns or hot dog style buns.
Salt
Pepper
chives or tarragon.

• preparation

Boil fresh lobsters, see details below and then take all the meat out of the tail shell, claws, and knuckles. Avoid the frozen version as it can be somewhat chewy.

Wash the celery, and chop it up into small little pieces. Then roughly chop up the lobster meat into bite sized pieces, the chunkier the better.

Mix the chopped lobster meat with the mayonnaise, finely chopped celery, lemon juice, salt and pepper into a bowl and mix thoroughly. Taste the lobster filling and adjust the seasoning as needed.

Get your lobster roll buns ready. Top the rolls/bun with a heaping portion of lobster. Garnish the lobster roll with some freshly chopped chives or tarragon. The lobster rolls are best served immediately, though you can easily make the lobster filling ahead of time and keep it in the fridge for a day or two, then assemble sandwiches as needed.

How long do I boil lobster for?
As a rule of thumb you want the pot to be large enough to completely cover the lobsters with at least 2 inches of water.
In a large Bring the water to a boil and add about 1 tbsp of salt per liter of water, better yet use fresh seawater for best results.
Add the live lobsters to the boiling water and then bring the pot back to a boil as quickly as possible. Reduce the heat to a simmer, and cook the lobsters for 10 to 12 minutes.


As a general rule of thumb you should boil lobster for 7 minutes per pound. This is based on the lobster size though and not the combined total weight. So if you are cooking 1.5 lb lobsters you should simmer them for about 11 minutes, if you are cooking 2 lb lobsters 14 minutes and so on.

Serves: 4

Adapted from Canadian Living Magazine April 2003

• Ingredients

1 7ounce package crabmeat
1 2 ounce lobster tail
2 eggs
2 tablespoons sour cream
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 1/4 cups fresh bread crumbs
3 tablespoons finely diced red onion
1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill
1/4 teaspoon Worcestershire and hot pepper sauce
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon canola oil

Roasted Pepper Coulis:
1 sweet red pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
1 large clove garlic, minced
1/2 cup tomato juice
1 tablespoon white wine
2 teaspoons chopped fresh basil
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Dill Cream:
1/2 cup white wine
3/4 cup whipping cream
1 teaspoon butter
1 teaspoon flour
2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
pinch each salt and pepper

• preparation

Place crab in sieve. Remove lobster from shell;dice and add to crab. Press out liquid and remove any visible cartilage or shell. Whisk eggs, sour cream and lemon juice until smooth. Stir in crumbs, onion, dill, Worcestershire and hot pepper sauces, salt and pepper. Mix in crab and lobster.
With damp hands, form by 1/4 cupfuls into 8 cakes, each scant 1/2 inch thick. Lightly brush large non-stick skillet with oil; place over medium heat.
Fry cakes, in batches if necessary and brushing lightly with oil if needed, until golden and crisp on both sides, about 4 minutes per side.
Roasted Pepper Coulis:
Meanwhile, grill or broil red pepper until blackened all over, about 20 minutes. Let cool. Peel, halve and seed; chop and set aside. In nonstick skillet, heat oil over medium heat; cook onion and garlic until golden, 5 minutes. Add lemon juice, wine, roasted pepper, basil, salt and pepper; bring to boil. Reduce heat; simmer for 3 minutes. Purée in blender or food processor.

Dill Cream:
In saucepan, boil wine until reduced to 1/4 cup. Pour in cream; boil for 3 minutes. Meanwhile, mash butter and flour until smooth; whisk into pan. Simmer, whisking, until smooth and slightly thickened, about 1 minute. Stir in dill, salt and pepper. Reheat coulis; pool generous 2 tablespoons each of the coulis and dill cream separately onto each warmed plate. Top with 2 crab-and-lobster cakes.

Serves: 4

• Ingredients

6 ounces jumbo lump crab, picked over to remove cartilage and bones
1/2 cup avocado, diced
1/2 cup cucumber, diced
1/2 cup tomato concasse
1 tablespoon shallots, finely chopped
1 tablespoon chives, finely sliced
1 lemon, juiced
4 ounces mayonnaise
3 ounces stiffly beaten whipped cream
salt and pepper, to taste
4 tablespoons gazpacho coulis, (see recipe below )
4 sprigs chervil or leaves of basil, for garnish

• preparation

In a small bowl, gently fold the crab with the avocado, cucumber, tomato concasse, shallots, chives and lemon juice together.
In a larger, separate bowl, fold the mayonnaise with the whipped cream. Using a spatula, fold the crab mixture into the mayonnaise mixture. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper.
Place a 3-inch round cookie cutter in the center of a chilled plate. Fill the cookie cutter with the crab salad and remove the cookie cutter.
There should be a cylinder of crab salad. Drizzle the gazpacho coulis around the crab salad, and garnish with chervil or basil.

Gazpacho Coulis:

1 tomato, peeled and seeded
1 teaspoon tomato paste
1 small cucumber, peeled and seeded
1 red bell pepper, seeded
1 clove garlic, peeled and cleaned
1 rib celery, cleaned and trimmed
extra-virgin olive oil
salt

In a food processor, liquefy the tomato, tomato paste and cucumber.
Use a juicer to extract juice out of red pepper, garlic, and celery. With the food processor running, add the juice and olive oil to the tomato puree. Season with salt.

Serves: 4

• Ingredients

4 cups fiddleheads, trimmed and cleaned
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups fresh morels, cleaned
2 1/2 pounds lobster, steamed, meat cut into 1/2-inch pieces
salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

• preparation

Blanch the fiddleheads in salted boiling water for 5 minutes. Drain. Heat the oil in a skillet
Sauté the morels for 2 minutes. Add the fiddleheads and sauté for 5 minutes. Add the lobster meat.
Mix and season with salt and pepper.

Serves: 4

The recipe is adapted from foodnetwork.ca/.

• Ingredients

6 3-oz lobster tails
2 tablespoons (30 mL) butter
4 cups (1 L) leeks, sliced (white and light green portion only)
1 cup (250 mL) fennel, finely sliced
1 teaspoon (5 mL) garlic, chopped
½ teaspoon (2 mL) salt
¼ cup (60 mL) white wine
2 cups (500 mL) whipping cream
2 tablespoons (30 mL) tarragon, chopped
12 oz (350 grams) linguine

• preparation

1. Preheat oven to 400ºF. Remove lobster from shells and clean. Pat dry and place on a baking sheet. Bake until opaque, about 7 min. Remove from oven and reserve.

2. Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium-low heat. Add leeks, fennel and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally until very tender, 10 to 12 min. Pour in wine and cook until evaporated. Add cream and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until thickened but still saucy, about 5 min. Remove saucepan from heat.

3. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook linguine until just al dente, about 10 minutes. Scoop ½ cup (125ml) cooking water from the pot and reserve. Drain pasta.

4. Return saucepan to burner over medium heat. Stir in tarragon. Add linguine and stir well to coat. Add cooking water by the tablespoon to help the sauce coat the noodles. Add enough to make it very creamy.

5. Chop four lobster tails into bite-sized pieces and toss with the linguine. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Divide among bowls.

6. Slice remaining lobster and place over the pasta. Garnish with more tarragon if desired.

Serves: 2

Recipe adapted from Le Bernadin, New York NY

• Ingredients

3/4 pound peeky-toe or jumbo lump crab meat
1 Granny Smith apple
1 vine-ripened tomato
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon thinly sliced fresh chives
4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 1/2 tablespoons sour cream
2 1/2 tablespoons mayonnaise
2 teaspoons curry powder
2 tablespoons milk
freshly ground white pepper

For tuiles:
1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter
1/2 cup rice flour
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper
1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/3 cup egg whites (from about 3 large eggs)
1/4 cup heavy cream

Garnish:
julienne strips of tomato,
sliced fresh chives, and curry powder

• preparation

Pick over crab meat to remove any bits of shell and cartilage and if using lump crab meat lightly shred.
Peel and core apple and cut enough into 1/4-inch dice to measure 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon.
Peel and seed tomato and cut enough into 1/4-inch dice to measure 1/3 cup. Reserve 1 tablespoon each diced apple and tomato for sauce and in a bowl combine crab meat, remaining diced apple and tomato, 1 tablespoon chives, 3 tablespoons lemon juice, 1 1/2 tablespoons sour cream, 1 1/2 tablespoons mayonnaise, and 1 1/2 teaspoons curry powder, tossing to combine well. Chill filling.
In a bowl whisk together milk and remaining tablespoons lemon juice, sour cream, and mayonnaise and stir in reserved diced apple and tomato, remaining teaspoon chives, 1/2 teaspoon curry powder, and white pepper and salt to taste. Chill sauce while making tuiles.
Make tuiles:
Preheat oven to 350°F. In a small saucepan melt butter over moderate heat and cool slightly. In a bowl whisk together flours, sugar, salt, white pepper, and nutmeg and whisk in whites until just combined. Whisk in cream until just combined and whisk in butter until just combined. On a baking sheet spread 2 teaspoons batter in an arc shape. With a pastry brush spread batter into a 5-inch-long arc, about 1 1/2 inches wide.
Make 3 more arcs with some of remaining batter in same manner, spacing them about 1 inch apart. Bake tuiles in middle of oven until bubbly, crisp, and golden, 3 to 5 minutes.
Carefully transfer tuiles with a thin spatula to a rack to cool and make more tuiles in same manner. (There will be enough batter to make about 26 tuiles, more than you need for the napoleons; leftovers may be used as an hors d'oeuvre.)
Spoon 2 tablespoons filling onto a plate and top with a tuile. Make 2 more layers with 4 tablespoons filling and 2 tuiles. Make 3 more napoleons in same manner. Drizzle sauce around napoleons and garnish with tomato, chives, and curry powder.

Serves: 8

I created this recipe in the ideal surroundings of a salmon fishing camp, on the Grand Cascapedia river, on the Gaspé coast in Québec, Canada, where salmon and lobsters abound.

• Ingredients

2 envelops unflavored gelatin
1/3 cup cold water
1 cup parsley, chopped
1/2 up dill, chopped
1/2 up tarragon, chopped
1/2 up chives, chopped
2 ounces butter, softened
2 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 pound lobster chunks, cooked
8 ounces smoked salmon, sliced
to taste salt and pepper
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon aromat seasoning

• preparation

Dissolve the gelatin in water. In a mixing bowl, combine the parsley, dill, tarragon, chives, butter, cream cheese, and mayonnaise. Melt the gelatin over low heat. Stir in the herb mixture.
Combine the lobster chunks with the green sauce. Arrange the smoked salmon slices on a sheet of film wrap in a 12 by 8-inch rectangle.
Spoon the lobster-herb mixture over the smoked salmon to form a log about a foot long. Lift the film wrap, and enclose the smoked salmon in the lobster mixture.
Twist both ends of the roll. Refrigerate for 3 to 4 hours, or until the roll is firm.
Remove the film wrap. Place the roll on a cutting board, and slice into -inch slices.

PRESENTATION
Arrange two slices of the smoked salmon and lobster roll on cold plates. Serve with cucumber salad, and tomato slices. Decorate with lemon baskets or wedges.