At my poolside luncheon last weekend, one of my favorite private chefs Elena Apostolides prepared a hero dish which every guest has been asking for the recipe: A decadent deconstructed Lobster Cobb Salad! The beauty of this salad is that it can all come together very quickly and be prepared almost fully ahead of time. You can buy lobster meat from your local fishmonger or cook it yourself. The meat from any part of the lobster is good, so feel free to steam whole lobsters or just use the tails or claws.

 

2 pounds cooked Lobster Meat, 3 large Lobsters, or 6 tails

1 pound Bacon

2 Avocados

2 cups Cherry Tomatoes

1 cup Blue Cheese (something more firm for crumbling)

Directions:

*For the vinaigrette, toss all ingredients into a blender until smooth. Alternatively, mix everything in a bowl and finely grate the garlic with a microplane.

*First, cook your bacon in an oven at 350 degrees until crispy. Crumble or dice, then set aside.

*If using already cooked lobster meat, skip ahead to the next step. If cooking the lobsters, simply steam and crack open. They’ll get seasoned later with the vinaigrette.

*For the perfect hard boiled egg, bring your water to a rolling boil, then drop the eggs in for exactly 10 minutes. Remove immediately and drop into an ice bath to cool. Everything up until this point can be prepared a day in advance.

*When ready to serve: halve the cherry tomatoes, peel and cut each of the eggs into quarters, and give the avocados a large dice. Grab a large serving platter, making sure there’s enough room for all of the components. Place each ingredient close but still separately so it’s easy to pick each one out.

*I like to dress the lobster with some of the vinaigrette and to leave some extra on the side if guests want more. Garnish with chives if desired and sprinkle some flaky sea salt over everything.