Be it a special occasion or simply because you want to spoil your guests, indulge in this Lobster Tail Salad drizzled with delicious homemade mango dressing. This salad promises to be refreshing, simple yet sophisticated and downright delicious.
Wash the green oak lettuce whole. Do this step first as you need time for the lettuce to completely dry. Set aside.
Remove the shell of the lobster. With a set of kitchen shears, turn the lobster tail upside down so the underbelly is facing up. Cut through the middle of the soft shell from one end to the other. Grab the sides of the lobster tail and gently pry it open to loosen the flesh from the shell. When that happens, grab the flesh and gently wriggle the rest out from the top part of the tail.Using a skewer, pierce it through the middle of the lobster tail lengthwise. This will prevent it from curling when steaming. Over a pot of boiling water, steam for 4-6 minutes, pending on the size of your lobster tail. When done, remove and set aside to cool. Discard the skewer and slice the lobster tail about 3-4 cm in width.
Cut the yellow squash into small wedges. Bring a small saucepan of water to the boil. Add the yellow squash wedges into the water for 1 min. Remove, run under cold water to stop the cooking process. Pat dry and set aside.
Using a Y peeler, shave the asparagus. Place the asparagus on a chopping board and lightly shave from the end to the tip. Discard the first shave as we’re after the white part of the vegetable. Then with a little more force, shave the asparagus from top to bottom until you’re not able to do so anymore.
Salad Dressing
Peel the mango and extract as much flesh as possible.
Using a hand blender, add the mango, juice of 2 limes, leaves of 2 sprigs of coriander, green chilli, honey, olive oil and apple cider vinegar.
Blitz until pureed and well combined.
Assembly
In a medium sized mixing bowl, add the shaved asparagus and yellow squash with 4 tbsp of mango dressing. Add salt and pepper to taste and toss.
In a separate mixing bowl, toss the lobster tail with 2 tbsp of mango dressing and add salt and pepper.
With the lettuce, cut it off near the base. We want to retain the lettuce as is, so it resembles a floral bouquet. Place it on a large serving platter.
Then strategically place the asparagus, yellow squash and lobster tail under, around, between the lettuce leaves and on top so there is an even spread. Make sure the lobster tail is prominent for your guests to see.
Drizzle small dollops of mango dressing on top.
Season with salt and pepper.
Serve immediately.
Notes
You can substitute the lobster tail with crab meat and prawns.
A whole green oak lettuce was selected because its soft wavy leaves resembled that of a floral bouquet. If you’re unable to source it, select the softest lettuce you can find. Don’t choose the regular iceberg lettuce as it’s too crunchy.
Keep the rest of the asparagus for another salad or to be used in another dish like a vegetable stir fry.
If you want a bit more kick, use half the green chilli in the dressing.