This fresh and fancy Poached Lobster Salad features juicy summer peaches, shaved fennel and sweet white corn, all tossed together with a tarragon vinaigrette. 

I’m so excited to finally be able to share this fun collaboration from last month! Recently some local ladies and I converged on my favorite beach in Santa Barbara, Fernald Point, to create a gorgeously styled beach shoot complete with a coastal themed menu and locally sourced wine pairings.

Is this not the most idyllic setting you could ever dream up for a beach picnic?? I’ll be honest, it was a lot of work hauling all of these props and ingredients out to the shoreline, but it was well worth the effort to create this magical scene.

Santa Barbara is home to some of the most beautiful beaches in the world, vibrant produce, stunning wines and fresh west coast seafood, so our intention for this shoot was to highlight all the amazing things our town has to offer (as well as our respective businesses, of course, which I’ll get to in a moment because these are some seriously talented ladies you need to know!).

TIPS FOR POACHED LOBSTER SALAD SUCCESS

• When poaching the lobster, be generous with the amount of salt you add to the poaching liquid. You want it to be salty like the ocean!
• After poaching, dunk the lobster in an ice bath to chill it rapidly, that way it doesn’t continue to cook as it cools, which can result in tough, rubbery lobster- no one wants that.
• To separate the lobster meat easily from its shell, I like to run scissors vertically down the center of each side of the shell.`
• Using a mandolin will help you get those delicate, paper-thin slices of shaved fennel.
• I also like to reserve some of the fennel fronds to garnish the poached lobster salad.
• Choose the juiciest peaches and the sweetest corn you can find; since the dressing is light this salad is all about letting that summer produce shine.

The crisp fennel and corn paired with the juicy peaches and succulent lobster make this Poached Lobster Salad a winning combination for summer. It’s light, refreshing, colorful and balanced, aka everything you want in a summer salad.

I also brought Heirloom Tomato Crab Toasts with Charred Scallion Aioli, but I’m saving that recipe for a later post! Now let’s get into the other ladies’ contributions to this beach picnic!

All photographs were taken by the lovely and talented Megan Sorel of Megan Sorel Photography. She captured the Santa Barbara beach scene so beautifully!

Jamie from The Oyster Tin, a newly launched micro shuckery and mobile oyster bar that services events like weddings and corporate gatherings, contributed the most amazing fresh raw oysters from Morro Bay just up the coast, as well as her signature BBQ Oysters. Both were insanely delicious.

Hana-Lee from Wander and Wine paired the perfect local wines for this menu. Head to her blog to see what she paired with each dish!

Table styling and linens courtesy of Viktoriya from FOLD. I’m in awe of how she was able to take all of the props, pillows and linens we brought individually and pull selections that worked together so effortlessly for this shoot.

Robin from Cali Girl Cooking made the most delicious Strawberry Rhubarb Pie with Amaretto Crust which proved to be the perfect to cap to a lovely meal and afternoon.

Thanks to all the ladies who participated to make this shoot unforgettable! Be sure to check out all of their posts and websites, and if you make this Poached Lobster Salad, please snap a pic and share it with #LePetitEats!

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Poached Lobster Salad

This fresh and fancy Poached Lobster Salad features juicy summer peaches, shaved fennel and sweet white corn, all tossed together with a tarragon vinaigrette. 

Course Salad

Cuisine American

Keyword healthy lobster salad recipe, poached lobster recipes, salad with lobster

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Total Time 30 minutes

Servings 4

Calories 700 kcal

Author Denisse

Ingredients

FOR THE LOBSTER:

• 1/2 bottle white wine
• 1 lemon halved and juiced
• 2 tablespoons whole peppercorns
• 1 bundle fresh thyme
• 1 bulb garlic cut in half horizontally
• Sea salt
• 4-6 lobster tails

FOR THE TARRAGON VINAIGRETTE:

• 1/4 cup white wine vinegar
• Zest and juice of 1 lemon
• 1 small shallot minced
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1/4 cup fresh tarragon leaves
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 cup olive oil

FOR THE SALAD:

• 3 peaches thinly sliced
• 2 medium fennel bulbs very thinly sliced, some fennel fronds reserved
• 2 ears white corn kernels removed from cob
• Flaky sea salt

Instructions

1. Fill an 8-quart stockpot halfway with water and bring to a boil over high heat. Add the wine, lemon juice, peppercorn, thyme, garlic and two to three generous pinches of salt. Boil for 10 minutes.

2. Add the lobster, reduce heat to a simmer, cover and cook for 8 minutes. Remove lobster tails from pot and dunk into an ice bath to cool quickly. Once cool, remove the meat from the tails and chop coarsely.

3. To make the tarragon vinaigrette, add vinegar, lemon zest, lemon juice, shallot, honey, tarragon, salt pepper and olive oil to a blender and blend until smooth. Set aside.

4. Arrange peaches, fennel, corn and lobster on a platter. Season with flaky sea salt, drizzle with tarragon vinaigrette and garnish with reserved fennel fronds.

Recipe Notes

TIPS FOR POACHED LOBSTER SALAD SUCCESS

• When poaching the lobster, be generous with the amount of salt you add to the poaching liquid. You want it to be salty like the ocean!
• After poaching, dunk the lobster in an ice bath to chill it rapidly, that way it doesn’t continue to cook as it cools, which can result in tough, rubbery lobster- no one wants that.
• To separate the lobster meat easily from its shell, I like to run scissors vertically down the center of each side of the shell.`
• Using a mandolin will help you get those delicate, paper-thin slices of shaved fennel.
• I also like to reserve some of the fennel fronds to garnish the poached lobster salad.
• Choose the juiciest peaches and the sweetest corn you can find; since the dressing is light this salad is all about letting that summer produce shine.