Lobster Avocado Salad: Longing for warmer weather? This salad could take you there

Think juicy heirloom tomatoes, plump chunks of lobster meat, a creamy avocado, and a simple herb dressing to bring it all together.

Meredith Hayden's Lobster Avocado Salad recipe. Picture: Emma Fishman

This recipe is a celebration of summer. Juicy heirloom tomatoes, plump chunks of lobster meat, creamy avocado, tender microgreens, and a simple herb dressing to bring it all together. It pairs perfectly with a hot sunny day (or pretending it’s a hot sunny day) and good company.

Meredith Hayden. Picture: Emma Fishman

The Wishbone Kitchen Cookbook. Picture: Emma Fishman

Lobster avocado salad

INGREDIENTS

For the Herb Dressing

• 2⁄3 cup mayo
• 1⁄4 cup loosely packed fresh basil leaves
• 2 tablespoons roughly chopped fresh tarragon
• 2 tablespoons roughly chopped fresh chives
• 1⁄2 small shallot, roughly chopped
• 1⁄2 lemon, zested and juiced (1 to 2 tablespoons)
• 1⁄4 teaspoon kosher salt

For the Salad

• 4 medium heirloom tomatoes, sliced 1⁄4 inch thick
• 1 medium-large avocado, peeled, pitted, and sliced
• 1 lemon, halved
• 2 heads Bibb or Little gem lettuce, leaves separated
• 1 head frisée lettuce or bunch of watercress, leaves separated
• 1⁄2 cup loosely packed fresh basil leaves, torn into 1-inch pieces
• 1⁄4 cup loosely packed fresh tarragon leaves
• 1⁄4 cup finely chopped fresh chives
• 1 pound cooked lobster meat from about 2 lobsters, cut in bite-size chunks
• Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling
• Flaky salt

Serves 4

PREP THE DRESSING: Using a blender or immersion blender, process the mayo, basil, tarragon, chives, shallot, lemon zest, 1 tablespoon of lemon juice, and salt until smooth. Taste and adjust the seasoning, adding more salt and/or lemon juice as needed.

PREP THE VEG: Season both sides of the tomato slices with flaky salt and set aside.

Season the avocado slices with a pinch of flaky salt and a squeeze of lemon juice. Set aside.

In a large bowl, combine the Bibb lettuce, frisée, basil, and tarragon. Add a few tablespoons of dressing plus a few pinches of flaky salt and toss to coat.

ASSEMBLE AND SERVE: Arrange a layer of tomatoes and avocado over a serving platter or individual plates and drizzle them with extra-virgin olive oil, then begin to build the salad. Top the tomatoes with a pile of the lettuce mixture, layer in some of the lobster, more of the tomatoes and avocado, more lettuce, and more lobster.

Finish with a sprinkle of chives, freshly grated lemon zest, and another drizzle of olive oil.

The Wishbone Kitchen by Meredith Hayden (Ebury Press, RRP $55.00). Photography by Emma Fishman.