Salade de Homard (Blue Lobster Salad w/ Pigeon)
Chef Yuu Shimano’s Salade d’Homard pays tribute to the timeless French lobster salad while expressing the distinct culinary identity of Restaurant Yuu.
Combining sweet blue lobster, smoky pigeon, house-cured ham, and seasonal truffles, the dish captures the chef’s refined approach to flavor and balance. It’s a masterful play between land and sea — precise, bold, and unmistakably modern French.
Enjoy!
Blue Lobster Salad with Pigeon & Summer Truffle (Salade de Homard)
A refined homage to the classic lobster salad, reimagined with the distinct elegance and creative precision of Restaurant Yuu.
Ingredients
- blue lobster 1 whole – claw and body meat used
- Lobster tomalley (coral) reserved for dressing
- 1/2 pigeon breast bone-in; roasted to a rosy medium;
- pigeon legs, heart and liver (grilled over charcoal)
- 2 thin slices house-made pork ham made from pork shoulder marinated for 2–3 days in shio-koji with spices (cardamom, red pepper, star anise), then cooked sous-vide
- seasonal salad greens 5–8 varieties – e.g. green lettuce, romaine, mustard greens, radicchio, other market greens
- summer truffle (burgundy); shaved to taste
Dressing:
- 50 g Dijon mustard preferably green tarragon mustard
- 15 ml sherry vinegar
- 10 ml Chardonnay white wine vinegar
- 10 ml rice vinegar
- salt to taste
- white pepper to taste
- fines herbes chervil, tarragon, parsley, dill, chopped, to taste
- 100 ml extra virgin olive oil
- 10-50 ml grapeseed oil (to adjust consistency)
- lobster tomalley coral, from the boiled lobster
Court Bouillon (for poaching lobster):
- 3 l water
- 45 g salt (1.5% concentration)
- aromatic vegetables (onion, celery, fennel, green tops of leek, carrot (thinly sliced))
Instructions
Prepare the Court Bouillon
- Bring the water, salt, and aromatic vegetables to a gentle boil in a large pot.
Poach the Lobster:
- Add the claws and poach for 3½–4½ minutes.
- Then poach the body for 3½–5 minutes.
- Remove immediately and cool slightly. Extract the meat from the shell. Reserve the tomalley from the head for the dressing.
Make the Dressing
- In a bowl, mix Dijon mustard, the three vinegars, salt, pepper, and chopped fines herbes. Add the lobster tomalley and whisk well.
- Slowly emulsify with olive oil, adding a little at a time. Adjust the texture with grapeseed oil.
Cook the Pigeon
- Roast the bone-in pigeon breast to a rosy medium. Grill the legs, heart, and liver over charcoal for depth of flavor.
Prepare the Salad
- Lightly toss the seasonal greens in a bowl with a little of the dressing.
Assemble the Dish:
- On a plate, arrange the dressed greens. Add the lobster claw and body meat, slices of roasted pigeon breast, the grilled offal, and the house-made pork ham. Shave summer truffle generously over the top. Finish by drizzling more dressing over the entire salad.
Notes
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
Related: Poached Lobster Tail w/ Cauliflower and Lobster Butter Sauce
Related: Poached Lobster with Snap Peas and Morels
Related: Smoked & Poached Lobster on Parsnip Puree & Paprika Butter Sauce
Related: Lobster Bolognese with Brown Butter Truffle Sauce
Related: Most Expensive Seafood in the World
