Lobster salad

Chill cooked lobster meat and pat it dry, then fold it through just enough mayonnaise to coat, with a squeeze of lemon and chopped chives. Serve on crisp lettuce or in a brown-bread sandwich.

Serve it cold: the mayonnaise dressing and crisp salad leaves are best chilled. If you have cooked lobster meat that is still warm, cool it before mixing it with the dressing.

Keep it in a fridge at 5°C or below and follow any use-by date on a packaged salad. For homemade leftovers, eat them within two days and don’t leave the salad sitting out for long.

Freezing the finished salad is a poor choice: mayonnaise can separate and lettuce turns limp and watery. Freeze cooked lobster meat on its own, then thaw it in the fridge before making the salad.

Serve it with buttered new potatoes and cucumber, or with brown bread and a wedge of lemon for a lighter lunch. Keep other accompaniments simple so they don’t overpower the lobster.

Cooked king prawns or crab meat work well with the same lemon-and-mayonnaise dressing. Pat the seafood dry first so it doesn’t make the salad watery.

No: lobster is a crustacean and a regulated allergen in the UK. Mayonnaise commonly contains egg too, and prepared salads can have other ingredients or traces, so check the allergen information if you have an allergy.