Unfortunately the French Laundry isn’t quite in our every-day restaurant budget, which is why we love Thomas Keller’s Ad Hoc at Home and French Laundry Cookbook. We have to admit—most of the recipes in this two-tome collection are a bit over-the-top (even with the step-by-step instructions they can be overwhelming). But the traditional lobster roll (with no cooking actually needed) was ideal for a first attempt. The recipe was easy, turned out fantastic and took less than 20 minutes to put together—but beware—precooked lobster is pricy so look for special promotions (like we did) before scheduling this meal into your routine.
What you’ll need:
1.5 pounds of cooked lobster meat (call around for the best price and availability)
3 tablespoons of mayo (we used reduced-fat and 2.5 tablespoons would have been better)
2 tablespoons of minced red onion
2 tablespoons of chopped celery (you could double this to add extra crunch)
2 teaspoons of finely chopped tarragon
2 teaspoons of finely chopped flat-leaf parsley (make sure you get the right type of parsley, there is a difference!)
2 teaspoons of finely chopped chives
little salt, little pepper
1/2 lime squeeze
6 hot dog buns (the really soft, oversized kind)
Some butter lettuce leaves
To prepare:
Make sure the lobster is in quarter-sized chunks. Place in a large bowl and add in all the ingredients. Place in fridge while you are preparing the buns.
For the buns, cut in half and slice the outsides to they are flat. Butter and place on pan to grill the buns. Open up, place butter leaf lettuce pieces and then top with lobster meat.
We added sweet potato fries (frozen from Whole Foods), which were a pretty addition to the plate, and a great source of vitamin A.
Makes six rolls at a cost of about $10 per roll—it’s not the cheapest meal, so save for a special occasion like a spring dinner party.
Make It Simple Sister 