Lobster Rolls with Shaved Fennel and Citrus

This year’s South Street Spring Festival is right around the corner!

On Saturday, May 3 from 11:00 to 8:00 pm, eight blocks of South Street will showcase the best restaurants, bars, food trucks, live music, and shopping the street has to offer at a huge block party! The free, all-ages Spring Festival will be held on South Street between Front and 8th and will also run along the 2nd Street Plaza between South and Lombard. There will also be three main stages and eight other performance areas along the festival featuring live music.

During the Festival, Brauhaus Schmitz will also host their second annual German Maifest on the 700 block of South Street featuring German beers, dancers, music, food, flower headbands and even a May pole!

I was invited to attend a media preview at Brahaus Schmitz and got to taste and sip some of the offerings you can find at the Festival.

Everything was delicious! Be sure to look out for the sausage and potato salad from Brauhaus Schmitz, the Shepard’s Pie from Cavanaugh’s Headhouse, the Short Rib Tacos from Bridget Foy’s, the Sliders from Redwood, and the Lobster Rolls from Headhouse Crab and Oyster. Twisted Tail was also serving up Mint Juleps which should not be missed!

We also got to learn some German dance moves! Many thanks to all the chefs, mixologists, and everyone else who helped make the media event a success!

I decided to try my own hand at making a Lobster Roll and found this recipe for Lobster Rolls with Shaved Fennel and Citrus in Cooking Light’s Global Kitchen Cookbook. These are a bit different from the Headhouse Crab & Oyster ones so be sure to check out their version at the Festival!

Ingredients:

• 3 cups coarsely chopped cooked lobster meat
• 2 tablespoons olive oil mayonnaise
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh tarragon
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
• 2 cups thinly sliced fennel bulb (about 1 medium bulb)
• the zest from one orange
• 1 tablespoon fresh orange juice
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
• 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
• 6 New England hot dog buns

Combine the lobster, mayo, tarragon, and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a large bowl.

Combine the fennel, remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, orange zest, orange juice, lemon juice, rice wine vinegar, olive oil, and pepper in a separate bowl.

Heat a large saute pan over medium heat. Melt 1 tablespoon butter, swirling to coat. Add 2 buns to the pan and cook for 2 minutes on each side or until lightly browned. Repeat with remaining butter and buns.

Add 1/2 cup lobster salad to each bun. Top with 1/2 cup fennel salad.

The fennel salad is a great complement to the rich lobster salad. This lighter take on lobster rolls still has a ton of flavor without as much mayo and butter!

In case you were wondering (because I had no idea), New England hot dog buns are just normal buns cut on the top instead of the side. You can absolutely substitute in normal hot dog buns. In some of the photos, I also tried using a rosemary roll which was also quite yummy!