Warm smoked lobster salad with radish, and a lime vanilla mango dressing

A rather smart salad. Smoked lobster, an interesting selection of salad leaves and a sweet, sharp fruity dressing.

Equipment: You will need a smoke gun if you want to smoke the lobster meat.

Preparation method

1. Cut through the lobsters at the head joint, setting aside the heads. Place the lobster cut-side down onto a plate lined with kitchen paper to drain.

2. Chop the tail fans off at the other end and set aside.

3. Snip down the inside of the remainder of the tail shell and ease off of the lobster meat – you want the tail in one piece. Then carefully crack the claws and ease the meat out.

4. Heat a large frying pan until medium hot, add the butter and lobster meat and just warm through, then remove the pan from the heat.

5. Once it is cool enough cover the pan with cling film then place the smoke gun under the cling film and smoke for five seconds.

6. Reseal the cling film around the pan then leave to cool while you assemble the plates.

7. For the dressing, place the mango, vanilla seeds and lime juice into a small food processor. Blend to a purée then pass through a fine sieve into a bowl.

8. Add the sherry vinegar, then check for seasoning, adding more lime if needed, salt and black pepper.

9. For the salad, place the frisée, radishes and chives into a bowl and dress with a little of the mango dressing.

10. Combine the remaining leaves together in a separate bowl.

11. To serve, place the heads of the lobster, cut-side down at the top centre of each plate. Lay a line of the dressed frisée salad down the centre of the plates.

12. Carve the smoked lobster tail meat into thick slices and lay over the dressed frisée, then place the tail fan shells at the bottom.

13. Place the claw meat either side of the heads at an angle – it should resemble a lobster.

14. Scatter the remaining leaves around the plates, with a few pieces of red pepper in between.

15. Finish with a little drizzle of the mango dressing.