This book was one I never would have chosen for myself, and if you follow me at all you know I don’t really go for any kind of love story lit, but I have become surprised at how often I tend to read it (and like it). Regardless, The Rosie Project was one of those novels that I wasn’t planning to read but I did and I enjoyed it.

The Rosie Project is about Don Tillman, a genetics professor who has organized his life down to its smallest details. Due to Don’s belief that life is a series of systems and routines he has trouble fitting in and even more difficulty dating. He decides to start the Wife Project, a screening test to find a compatible mate for himself. Enter Rosie, an unpredictable woman that Don dismisses at first but then find himself drawn to as he helps her track down her biological father.

Through their adventures collecting DNA samples from possible father candidates, Don and Rosie fall in love, though they both refuse to acknowledge the fact. Don fails to recognize how he feels about Rosie because she doesn’t fit the profile of a perfect mate. At the same time Rosie denies her feelings for Don. Eventually the two acknowledge their feelings for one another just as their search for Rosie’s father combusts.

The dish that I made makes it appearance on Don’s first date with Rosie; which doesn’t go as originally planned and they end up at his apartment for dinner. At this point Don has abandoned the date and begins preparing his normal Tuesday night dinner from his standardized meal system: Lobster, mango and avocado salad with wasabi coated flying fish roe and crispy seaweed and deep fried leek garnish. The title of this dish sounded  intimidating and, for a salad, very complex; I decided to give it a shot.

The significance of the salad in this scene is pretty obvious. It gives the reader insight into Don and Rosie and their very different perspectives on everyday tasks and items. Don sees making the salad as part of a routine, looking at it in regard to nutritional value, a part of a system, and a task that can be completed without contemplation. Rosie’s attitude in regards to the salad demonstrates how she also has rules but with different sorts of sub-rules and exceptions; which is how she lives her life. She gives regard to the way the food makes her feel for example, the killing of the lobster, and the sustainability of the seafood whereas Don looks at the dish in terms its merits as a part of his overall meal system.

I will be honest, I was terrified to make this salad. I know that sounds crazy but it had so many components to it whenever I started planning to make it or even purchase the ingredients, I got panicky. I forced myself forward with this though because I liked the fact that it was healthy and outside of my normal cooking comfort zone. Again, if you have read some of my past posts you know that seafood is a thing that intimidates me. Regardless, I searched all over creation to find these ingredients and was mostly successful while the assembly of the salad was considerably easier.

For the base of the salad I used a combination of green leaf lettuce, romain lettuce, artisan lettuces that came prepackaged in the grocery store and arugala. I did this for a couple reasons, first because those lettuces are said to be more nutritionally superior than other lettuces. I thought that since Don bases his cooking method partially off nutrition, that this would be a nice choice. I also chose this because it just seems fancier than iceberg lettuce and a better foundation for lobster. The other salad ingredients were pretty basic, the avocado and mango are easily found in grocery stores.

The next step to this salad was preparing the lobster. I used the information from the novel and interpreted as best I could.

“I put the herb and vegetable mixture in the large saucepan with the water, salt, rice wine vinegar, mirin, orange peel, and coriander seeds”.

I prepared boiling water with  all of the above mentioned ingredients plus a little bit of dill. I can’t kill a lobster, I didn’t even want to put it in the freezer to put it to sleep and then kil it so I used two lobster tails for this. The logic may be flawed with this idea but I felt a little better about the whole thing using the tails. You can do whatever you prefer. I put the lobster (tails)into my prepared water.

For the dressing, I used what I could get out of the context clues in the novel. The rest I put together through a lot of random Google searching and then good old fashioned taste testing.

Finally the garnish, I thought this was pretty straight forward but I looked up how to do it chef style because I thought it would fit in with this dish better than a lump of fried leek. So I washed and dried my leeks, cut them into very thin strips and paced in the oil until golden. My suggestion for this is to dry the leeks! I got splashed several times wit hot oil because the leeks were still a bit wet. I would also suggest using a neutral flavored oil. I also took the nori sheets and cut into thin strips and mixed with the leeks for the garnish.

The result was a very aesthetically pleasing salad. I really liked the color of everything and the way it sat on the plate. Upon tasting it I was… a little dismayed, only because with the amount of effort required for this salad I expected more. I actually think the dressing could be the problem but I am not sure. Overall, the salad was nice to look at and tasted fine but I felt that it just wasn’t worth the effort. If any readers have suggestions on how to make improve this recipe I would love to see them in the comments!

Lobster, Mango and Avocado Salad with Wasabi Coated Flying Fish Roe and Crispy Seaweed and Deep Fried Leek Garnish

Lobster
1 medium Lobster or two lobster tails
Peel of 1 orange, roughly sliced
1/2 teaspoon coriander
1/4 bunch dill
1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
1/4 cup mirin

Dressing
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons Japanese rice wine
2 teaspoons soy sauce
1/2 cup of macadamia nut oil
Juice of ½ lemon

Crispy Seaweed and Deep Fried Leek Garnish
Oil-a neutral type (for frying)
2 leeks (white part only)
1 sheet nori seaweed

mango

avocado

mixed lettuces (green leaf, romaine, spring greens, arugula)

3 teaspoons tobiko (wasabi flying fish roe)

Lobster
To kill the lobster, place it in the freezer for one hour, where it will go to sleep. Place the orange, coriander, dill, vinegar, and mirin to salted water and bring to the boil. Plunge the lobster into the rapidly boiling stock, then cover with a lid and turn off the flame. Let the lobster sit in the hot stock for 25 minutes, then drain and allow it to cool. Once the lobster reaches room temperature, refrigerate it until completely chilled.
When cold, clean the lobster of meat from tail, legs and claws. Cover and refrigerate both tail and leg meat until ready to assemble the final dish.

Mango and Avocado Salad
Wash chop and assemble lettuces and arugula.
Slice off each mango cheek and use a large spoon to carefully scoop out the flesh. Dice into bite-size pieces and reserve. Slice the avocado in half lengthwise, remove the stone and carefully scoop out the flesh. Dice into bite-size pieces, toss in a little lemon juice to stop it browning and reserve. Add it to salad right before serving.

For dressing combine all ingredients and mix well.

Crispy Seaweed and Deep Fried Leek Garnish
In a medium pot or a small deep fryer, heat the vegetable oil to 180 degrees. Cut the leek in half, lengthwise, then shred it finely into hair-like strands. Fry in the hot oil until it turns golden brown (10-15 seconds), then remove with a slotted spoon and drain on absorbent paper. Allow to cool, then season with salt and store in a dry place until needed. Cut the nori sheet in half and shred it finely into hair-like strands. Reserve until needed.

To serve: plate up the lettuces, top with mango, avocado, lobster meat and add dressing. Place the leeks and seaweed on the side and top with flying fish roe.