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Recipes for lobster salad, lobster melts, and lobster gazpacho

Excerpted from a new cookbook, <i>Lobster!</i>

These lobster melts get topped with sliced tomato and cheddar.Photographs by Jim Scherer / Styling by Catrine Kelty

Tip: It’s worth buying a pair of seafood shears if you plan to cook your way through a book like Lobster!

LOBSTER MELTS

Serves 2

These open-face sandwiches are the perfect way to use a bit of leftover lobster.

1 cup diced cooked lobster meat (about 5 ounces)

1½ tablespoons mayonnaise

1 tablespoon chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

2 teaspoons minced shallots

1 teaspoon lemon juice

Hot pepper sauce

2 to 4 slices (depending on size) firm sandwich bread

1 small tomato, sliced

2 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, shredded (½ cup)

Toss the lobster meat in a bowl with the mayonnaise, parsley, shallots, and lemon juice. Season with a dash of the hot pepper sauce. Refrigerate the mixture until ready to make the sandwiches.

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Preheat the broiler and place a rack about 4 inches from the heating element.

Lightly toast the bread. Spread the toasts with the lobster salad, top with tomato slices, and sprinkle with cheese. Transfer to a baking sheet and broil until the cheese is bubbly and pale golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes.

TANGY TARRAGON LOBSTER SALAD

Serves 4

Cook 2 1¼-pound hard-shell lobsters or 3 1-pound soft-shells and remove the meat, or purchase picked-out meat. If you have them, save 4 tail shell halves to use as pretty serving vessels for this simple salad. Serve with buttery dinner rolls.

½ cup mayonnaise

2 tablespoons chopped fresh tarragon, plus sprigs for garnish

¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste

2 cups chopped

cooked lobster meat (10 ounces)

½ cup finely chopped celery

1½ tablespoons capers, drained

4 large leaves Boston, bibb, or other soft lettuce

4 clean tail shell halves from 1-pound lobsters, optional

Whisk the mayonnaise with the chopped tarragon and cayenne in a small bowl.

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Combine the lobster meat with the celery and capers in a bowl. Pour the mayonnaise mixture over the lobster mixture, toss to combine, and taste for seasoning, adding a pinch more cayenne if you like more heat. (Can be made up to 4 hours ahead and refrigerated.)

If serving in the tail shells, line each shell with a lettuce leaf and fill with salad. If not using shells, simply place the lettuce leaves on a platter and fill. Garnish with tarragon sprigs and serve.

LOBSTER GAZPACHO

Serves 4 to 6

Based on an Andalusian classic, this gazpacho is an adaptation of a recipe in Jasper White’s Lobster at Home. Lobster adds a decidedly delicious dimension, and seafood broth helps to further punch up the lobster flavor. Serve on a sultry summer day.

3 cups roughly torn crustless country bread

2 cups seafood broth or clam juice

1½ cups tomato or mixed vegetable juice, plus more if necessary

5 ripe tomatoes (1¾ to 2 pounds), seeded and roughly chopped (4 to 5 cups)

1 red bell pepper, seeded and roughly chopped

1½ cups roughly chopped peeled English cucumber

1 cup roughly chopped red onion

1 garlic clove, roughly chopped

¼ cup fresh basil leaves, plus small sprigs for garnish

½ cup extra-virgin olive oil

¼ cup sherry vinegar

½ teaspoon hot pepper sauce, or to taste

Salt and black pepper 5 ounces cooked lobster tails, cut into medallions (about 1 cup)

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Combine the bread, seafood broth or clam juice, 1½ cups tomato or mixed vegetable juice, tomatoes, bell pepper, cucumber, onion, garlic, and basil leaves in a large bowl.

Let stand until the bread softens, at least 10 minutes.

Process the bread mixture in batches in a blender or food processor to make a fairly smooth puree. With the last batch in the machine and with the motor running, add the olive oil and vinegar in a stream. Combine all the batches in a large bowl, season with hot pepper sauce and salt and black pepper to taste, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, until thoroughly chilled. If the soup is too thick, thin with additional tomato or mixed vegetable juice. (Can be made a day ahead.)

Ladle the soup into bowls and float the lobster medallions on top. Garnish with basil sprigs and serve.


Excerpted from Lobster! © Brooke Dojny and used with permission from Storey Publishing. Send comments to cooking@globe.com.