Poached Seafood Salad with Lemon Dill Sauce

A lovely light salad to make anytime of the year, is a plump and juicy Poached Seafood Salad made with large shrimp, scallops, squid and a few tiny salad shrimp for good luck. The large shrimp are shelled and deveined; the squid are cut into rings; and the scallops are cut in half. They are all then poached for a few minutes in a shallow pan of simmering water until just done, then left to cool about 10 minutes. The mixed seafood is then tossed in a light lemon dill sauce and served with a wedge of fresh lemon. I served this seafood salad over a small bed of homemade celeriac remoulade for a light crunchy surprise at the bottom. Wonderfully light and delicate, this beautiful seafood salad makes an elegant appetizer or delicious entrée, with some extra lemon dill sauce on the side for good measure.




Poached Seafood Salad with Lemon Dill Sauce
Serves 2 as an entrée or 4 as an appetizer

10 large shrimp, shelled and deveined
4 large scallops
2 cleaned squid with tentacles
1 cup small salad shrimp
2 tbsp capers
1 lemon, for garnish

Lemon Dill Sauce:
1 cup sour cream
1 lemon, juiced
2 tbsp fresh dill, chopped
1 tsp salt

Celeriac Remoulade:
1 celeriac root
1 tsp lemon juice
2 tbsp mayonnaise
1 tsp caraway seeds
Maldon salt and white pepper to taste


For the lemon dill sauce, whisk all ingredients together in a small bowl, then cover and refrigerate until needed.

Slice the squid into 1/4-inch thick rings and cut the tentacles in half. Slice the scallops in half. Set a medium pan of water over med-high heat and once a few bubbles start to appear, lightly poach the shrimp, scallops and squid, one type at a time then set in a colander once done. Let cool for a few minutes then toss with 1/2 cup of lemon dill sauce and some capers.

For the celeriac remoulade, start by paring away the outer skin of the celeriac root using a vegetable peeler, then slice it into thin matchsticks using a mandolin or a sharp knife. Toss the 'matchsticks' in a small bowl with a squeeze of lemon juice to preserve the colour and to prevent it from going brown. Then add some mayonnaise and toss to combine. Season with caraway seeds and some Maldon salt and white pepper to taste.

To serve, spoon some of the celeriac remoulade in the bottom of each serving bowl and top with some of the mixed seafood salad with a wedge of lemon for garnish.