SEAFOOD Splurge with ARTICHOKE Salad

A lunch splurge on...
smoked salmon, lobster and sparkling wine.

How could I not label this as the splurge...

and maybe, not for the reasons you may be imagining.

We had just come off a very long morning of tasks and errands.

Our last stop was the fish specialty store where

we thought of getting some live lobsters.

Usually, we'll cook them just to our liking and even

make a tomato lobster ragout from the shells...

which we incredibly look forward to.

Now, that would be making good use from what

I consider a more than the usual pricey treat.

Instead...we both gave a gawking eye to the lobster tails

which were all cooked...de-shelled and ready to be plated.
Hubby and I had never truly felt the need to
be this lazy about preparing lobster before.

According to the fish monger...

they were cooked just perfectly with a touch of sea salt.

He did make it very difficult to resist such an offering.

Hubby and I gave each other a quick nod of approval and instantly

decided to pay the premium for not having to do the work ourselves.

Ohhh...and did we feel it at the cash register...

the hourly plumber came cheaper by weight.

Now, this is certainly way out of character for me.

Other than not making my own pasta or bread (temporarily for sure)...

I pretty much do everything else from scratch.

I do, however admit to having felt exhilarated
at the thought of a less labour intensive lunch.

Those lobster tails were soon to be on our table without

the time-consuming cooking and de-shelling mess.

Hubby was especially thrilled about this decision.

He particularly shudders when shellfish has to be cleaned...

it's really not appealing to him...how convenient...isn’t it?

In addition to the lobster...which should have been enough...

the Alaskan smoked salmon was reaching out to us as well.

So, what the heck...we went for the whole enchilada.

All there was missing was tender tiger shrimp.

We both decided to hold back on those for this specific meal.

Did I mention how reasonable we were?

When we got home...there were certainly no plans on

how we were going to eat these goodies of ours.

We had purchased a loaf of artisanal olive bread and

we were figuring a little sauce on the side...

a glass of sparkling Portuguese white wine 'Vinho Verde'

... and we had ourselves a great lunch snack.

Did I mention how fatigued we were?

Well...this is what we exhausted foodies turned out with

a little love for the food we've been blessed with.

I guess, with being grateful and all, we just can't help ourselves
when preparing our next meal...especially with seafood.

Enjoy this refreshing salad mix that we created on the spot.

It turned out surprisingly and spectacularly delicious.

Tangy Artichoke Lobster Salad platter
serves 2 persons

Printer Friendly Version

(American / Metric measures)
... Salad ingredients:
. 1 can of artichokes (separate bases apart)
. 1/8 cup (20gr) lobster tails (sliced off and chopped from tail bases)
. 1/8 cup (25gr) pickled ginger * (chopped)
. 1 tsp. (5ml) capers (crushed)
. 1/2 tsp. (2.5ml) Dijon mustard
. 1 tbsp. (15ml) extra virgin olive oil
. a few thinly sliced pitted black olives
. 1 small squeezed wedge of lime
* Pickled ginger: If you can manage to find this brand from ‘the Ginger people’...
it would be well worth your search.  Ever since I’ve discovered it...I can’t seem to do without.
Blend all these salad ingredients together and you’ll
have a tantalizing seafood artichoke salad in no time.
***
...the Platter consisted of:
. 2 lobster tails (split in two)
. 8 slices of smoked salmon. a lime (cut into small wedges)
. a few leaves of curly lettuce
. 4 big steamed broccoli florets
. a big handful of pitted black olives
. artichoke bases to hold some garnish

. a side of olive artisanal bread
. some 'Pindjur' (or a roasted pepper purée) to fill the artichoke bases
***

 Assemble your plate as is shown on photo or create
your way through a wonderful presentation of your own.

No matter how you put this platter together...
it will certainly be refreshing and delicious.
Especially, if your meal is accompanied by this mildly sweet
sparkling Portuguese...‘Vinho Verde’ from Aveleda Fonte.

We certainly thoroughly enjoyed our splurgy lunch.

I hope you also have a chance to experience such a delightful platter soon.

Buon appetito and flavourful wishes,

Foodessa

Here are other inspired ENTREE based recipes that may interest you:

. EDAMAME spread on VEGETABLE SHRIMP

. Turkish inspired Feta Bean Dip Delight