This salad, full of fresh herbs and Asian flavours, is a good way to make one Rock Lobster go further.
INGREDIENTS:
1 x 1kg cooked Rock Lobster (see notes)
1 cup watercress sprigs
½ cup coriander leaves
½ cup spearmint leaves
2 Lebanese cucumbers, halved lengthwise, seeded and sliced into crescents
2 spring onions, bulbs only, finely sliced
2 teaspoons sesame seeds, toasted
Asian Dressing
¼ cup lime juice
2 red shallots, finely chopped (see notes)
2 medium red chillies, seeded and chopped
2 teaspoons sesame oil
2 teaspoons fish sauce
2 teaspoons grated palm sugar
METHOD:
Make Asian Dressing: combine ingredients in a large bowl. Set aside.
Place the Rock Lobster on its back on a chopping board and, using a sharp knife, separate the tail from the head. Use kitchen scissors to cut down either side of the underside of the tail shell. Pull shell back and remove the meat in one piece. Slice 8 medallions from the thickest part of the tail, remove the digestive tract that runs through the top half of each medallion. Roughly chop remaining meat. Cover and refrigerate until needed.
Combine watercress, coriander and mint and wash and dry well. Add cucumber, spring onion and dressing and toss well.
Divide salad between plates, scatter with chopped rock lobster meat, place 2 medallions on each salad, drizzle any remaining dressing over the medallions and sprinkle with sesame seeds.
NOTES:
The easiest and most humane way to kill any crustacean is to chill them in the freezer for 30-60 minutes until they become insensible (but not long enough to freeze them). Once chilled, they should be killed promptly by splitting in half. See NSW Department of Primary Industries or RSPCA for more details.
If red shallots are unavailable, use 1 large golden shallot or ½ small red onion.
ALTERNATIVE SPECIES:
Bugs, Marron, large Prawns, Redclaw, Yabby.