Salade Victoria

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Medium saucepan
• •Large bowl for an iced-water bath
• •Fine-mesh sieve
• •Small nonreactive bowl and balloon whisk
• •Sharp chef's knife
• •Flexible spatula
• •½-cup measure

Instructions

1. 1

   Prepare the cold station

   Chill a wide mixing bowl and the serving platter. Set a second bowl of iced water beside the stove, and spread a clean kitchen towel nearby. Every component must be cold and dry before binding, so prepare the landing place before the asparagus meets the water.

2. 2

   Blanch the asparagus

   Bring a medium saucepan of water to a rolling boil and add 1 tablespoon of the salt. Drop in the asparagus tips and blanch for 60 to 90 seconds, just until brilliant green and tender enough for a knife to enter with slight resistance. Transfer them immediately to the iced water. Once cold, drain and spread them on the towel, then blot every surface dry. If they go a touch too far, chill them at once and handle them as little as possible; they cannot regain their snap, but they will keep their shape.

3. 3

   Cut equal dice

   Toss the cucumber dice with ⅛ teaspoon of the remaining salt and leave them for 10 minutes, then blot them firmly between clean towels. Cut the lobster trimmings, dried asparagus tips, truffle, and cucumber to the same ¼-inch (6 mm) size. Measure each only after trimming and drying: ½ cup (120 ml / 75 g) of each. Equal means equal here. This proportion is not brigade scaffolding; it is the architecture of Salade Victoria.

   Keep the four measured components separate and cold until the mayonnaise is ready. Mixing them early encourages the cucumber to wet the truffle and dull its perfume.
4. 4

   Purée the coral

   Press the cooked coral and creamy parts through a fine-mesh sieve into a small bowl, scraping underneath to collect every smooth bit. Work in 1 teaspoon of the vinegar until the mixture becomes an even paste without lumps. The coral gives the sauce its warm shell-pink colour, while the creamy parts carry the spiny lobster's deeper savour. Use only fully cooked parts cleared for consumption by your fishmonger and local seafood guidance.

5. 5

   Whisk the mayonnaise

   Whisk the pasteurized egg yolk with ½ teaspoon of the remaining vinegar, the final ⅛ teaspoon salt, and the white pepper until smooth. Add the oil first by drops, whisking each addition completely into the yolk; once the emulsion thickens, pour in a very thin thread while whisking steadily. If it separates, don't throw it out. Ça se rattrape: put the reserved ½ teaspoon vinegar in a clean bowl and whisk the broken mayonnaise into it one teaspoon at a time until the emulsion catches again. Whisk in the coral mixture. The finished mayonnaise should hold a soft ridge and appear evenly coral-coloured; if it is too firm, loosen it with a teaspoon of cold water.

6. 6

   Bind the salad

   Combine the cold lobster, asparagus, truffle, and cucumber in the chilled bowl. Reserve 2 tablespoons of coral mayonnaise, then fold the remainder through the dice with a flexible spatula, turning from the bottom so nothing is crushed. Each piece should wear a thin gloss, with no pool beneath. If liquid gathers, lift the solids out with a slotted spoon, dry the bowl, and return them with enough reserved mayonnaise to bind them again.

7. 7

   Set and serve

   Cover and chill the salad for 20 minutes, enough for it to settle without muting the truffle. Taste one complete spoonful containing all four dice, then correct only with a few drops of the reserved vinegar if needed. Spoon the salad loosely onto the chilled platter rather than compressing it into a mould. Bring it to the table while cool and glossy. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Ask a trusted fishmonger for a fully cooked female spiny lobster with its coral and creamy parts intact, and explain that the salad is served cold. Local seafood advisories govern whether the creamy parts may be eaten. If their safety cannot be confirmed, wait for a suitable lobster rather than guessing.
• •The book's equal quantities are measured after every component has been trimmed, cooked where necessary, dried, and diced. Use the same ½-cup measure four times. A heap of inexpensive cucumber beside a token shaving of truffle may be economical, but it is no longer Salade Victoria.
• •A sound whole preserved black truffle, drained and dried thoroughly, is the classical pantry's honest answer outside the fresh season. Truffle oil cannot replace the truffle's body, dark colour, or earthy bite in this dice.
• •Serve with brut Champagne or a mineral white Burgundy. The wine needs enough acidity to meet the mayonnaise, but no heavy oak that would smother the asparagus and truffle.

Advance Preparation

• •The lobster may be cooked and picked one day ahead. Keep the diced meat, coral, and creamy parts in separate covered containers at 40°F (4°C) or colder, and use them within 24 hours.
• •The asparagus, cucumber, lobster, and truffle may be prepared up to 4 hours ahead, but keep each component separate and thoroughly chilled. Bind the salad no more than 30 minutes before serving.
• •The coral mayonnaise may be made up to 6 hours ahead with a pasteurized yolk and kept covered in the cold. Whisk it briefly before folding, loosening it with a teaspoon of cold water if it has tightened.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 105g)