There’s a lot of debate when it comes to lobster rolls. Maine style or Connecticut style? Mayo or butter? Cold or hot? To be honest, I’d enjoy a lobster roll no matter its style. But what would my *ideal* lobster roll look like? It would highlight the lobster above all, incorporating flavors like lemon and herbs to bring out the sweetness of the lobster and add brightness to the roll. To create it, I took inspiration from my Sicilian roots. For these Sicilian Lobster Rolls, I forewent mayo *and* butter in favor of Salmoriglio, a traditional lemon dressing from southern Italy. For the bread, I opted for chewy and flavorful ciabatta rolls. The final results? These win any debate in my book. But don’t take my word for it…try them out and decide for yourself.
The Simple Lobster Roll
Ahh lobster rolls. The quintessential coastal sandwich that showcases the king of New England shellfish – the lobster. No matter what style you opt for, the concept of a lobster roll is simple: chunks of fresh lobster meat are lightly dressed and served in a split roll of some kind. There isn’t much to it – and there doesn’t need to be. Great lobster is tender, sweet, and lightly briny. It doesn’t need much fanfare to dress it up. The best lobster rolls allow lobster to shine, enhanced by simple additions.
However, this doesn’t mean there isn’t room for interpretation. From Connecticut to Maine, the styles, interpretations, and tweaks to this simple staple abound. When my parents took a recent trip to Maine, it inspired me to take a little more creative liberty and come up with a type of lobster roll all my own, with its essence stemming from somewhere far from New England – Sicily.
Looking for other seafood recipes? Try these:
Crab Cakes with Avocado Grapefruit Salsa
Smoked Salmon Crostini with Asparagus Mousse
What are Sicilian Lobster Rolls?
When crafting this recipe, I looked to my southern Italian roots for inspiration. Rather than pick between mayo or butter, I decided to dress the lobster in something else entirely – Salmoriglio. Salmoriglio is a dressing originating in Sicily that is also used as a marinade or sauce for seafood (especially swordfish!), meats, and vegetables. The main components are lemon juice, olive oil, a little water, garlic, and herbs. This sauce is very fresh and acidic – the perfect pairing for seafood in my opinion. Although salmoriglio usually uses fresh oregano, I swapped in basil to complement the sweetness of the lobster and because I think lemon, basil, and garlic are always fantastic together. This dressing is the perfect mix of bright lemon flavor, smooth olive oil, sharp garlic, and earthy basil. I think these flavors work wonderfully as a base for this unusual lobster roll – flavorful enough to elevate the lobster but not so heavy as to overpower it.
Putting it all together
The good thing about lobster rolls is that they are easy and simple to assemble. Prepare the dressing, cook the lobster, toss them together. Toast the rolls, fill with lobster, and serve. Honestly, the longest part of this recipe is preparing the salmoriglio. To do so, I crush together the garlic and basil using a mortar and pestle, but you can finely mince the garlic and chiffonade the basil if you dont have one. Then, the garlic and basil are topped with the lemon juice, zest, olive oil, water, and capers before being whisked to combine. That’s all there is to it. This sauce is very acidic and strong, but that’s how I like it! I think it needs to have a lot of that lemony citrus flavor to elevate and complement the sweet lobster.
For the lobster, I like to remove the raw tail meat from the shells and saute it in olive oil. I find that the extra browning achieved on the meat by cooking it outside of the shell adds a lot of fantastic flavor, especially in this application. Next, the lobster is chopped and tossed with the dressing.
All that’s left to do is split and toast the ciabatta rolls. I brush the inside of the rolls with homemade basil oil (just blend fresh basil into olive oil!) but plain olive oil works just fine here as well. Toasting the rolls is a quick extra step that is worth the time. Something about the extra crispness on the edges and softness in the center that comes from warming the bread takes this dish to the next level. Once the rolls are golden and toasted inside, fill them with lobster, drizzle with extra dressing, and enjoy.
I hope you love these Sicilian Lobster Rolls as much as I do! If you make this recipe, leave a comment and let me know what you thought or feel free to ask a question! I’d also love to see what you made! Tag me in your food pics @fortheperfectbite or use #fortheperfectbite on Instagram.
Sicilian Lobster Rolls
Equipment
- Mortar and Pestle
Ingredients
Salmoriglio
- 1 clove fresh garlic
- ½ cup fresh basil
- ½ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 tbsp lemon zest
- 1 tbsp water
- ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
- ¼ cup capers
- kosher salt
- freshly ground black pepper
Lobster Rolls
- 4 raw lobster tails (6-7 oz. each), fresh or thawed
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 4 ciabatta rolls
- 2 tbsp basil oil (or plain olive oil)
- fresh chives, chopped, for garnish
Instructions
- Prepare the Salmoriglio:If you have a mortar and pestle, crush the garlic clove and basil leaves together until a paste is formed. Otherwise, finely mince the garlic clove and chiffonade the fresh basil. Place into a large bowl.
- To the garlic and basil, add the lemon juice, zest, water, extra virgin olive oil, and capers. Whisk to combine, then season to taste with kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper.
- Remove the thawed lobster tail meat from the shells. Clean the tails of any vein or shell fragments.
- Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a saute pan over medium high heat. Add the lobster tails to the pan and saute until cooked, about 2 minutes per side, flipping halfway through.
- When the lobster tails have turned pink and opaque, remove them to a cutting board. Roughly chop the lobster into chunks.
- Add the lobster pieces to the salmoriglio and toss to coat.
- Split the ciabatta rolls in half, leaving the two halves connected on one side.Brush the inside of the rolls with basil oil (or plain olive oil).
- Place the rolls, inside facing down, into the saute pan used for the lobster. Toast over medium-high heat, until the insides are golden, 1-2 minutes.(If you cannot fit all the rolls into the pan at once, work in batches).
- Evenly divide the marinated lobster among the rolls. Drizzle with extra salmoriglio and sprinkle with chopped chives.Serve immediately.
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