Seafood Salad with Roasted Garlic and Capelin Roe Dressing

     Many lobster restaurants in Maine serve mayonnaise based lobster or shrimp salads that are nice to eat, but they can become boring.  No seasoning, no herbs, just plain mayonnaise and seafood is the simple style of Maine.  

     Many seafood restaurants along the rest of the east coast serve mayonnaise seafood salads that are flavored with a standard Old Bay brand seasoning mix.  Old Bay can get boring too, unless you happen to really like Old Bay.

     Trendy and modern seafood restaurants along the east coast do make fancier mayonnaise seafood salads.  Their clientele does want to experience something new, even if "something new" is an item that has been worn out for ten years in cutting edge culinary cities.  

     There is such a thing as cultural lag in the restaurant industry.  Not every customer has the opportunity to keep up with the latest and greatest trends in modern cuisine.  Ce est la vie!  Taking a few steps back to present flavors that a clientele from behind the times missed out on tasting is part of a good chef's strategy.  Rebirth items that a chef should avoid are the items that a chain restaurant bastardized and ruined the reputation of.  Once customers start to avoid a classic entree that chain restaurants burn out, then it is nearly impossible to sell that item even if it is properly made.

     Roasted garlic mayonnaise has hit the burnt out list more than once.  Roasted garlic mayonnaise seems to rejuvenate interest when it finds a new application.  Adding roasted garlic and capelin roe to a mayonnaise seafood salad does turn a simple seafood salad into flavor sensation that is very likable!  Some of my cutting edge readers will simply say "This is nothing new!"  For those who are new to roasted garlic mayonnaise, this seafood salad will draw interest.   

    
     Roasted Garlic and Capelin Roe Dressing Recipe:
     Peel a 5 whole garlic cloves.
     Place the garlic cloves in a small saute pan that is brushed with oil.
     Cover the saute pan with a lid.
     Place the pan in a 325 degree oven.
     Shake the pan once every 5 minutes.
     When the garlic turns a light brown color, then it is fully roasted and soft.
     Mash and mince the roasted garlic.
     Place the mashed garlic into a mixing bowl.
     Add 3 tablespoons of mayonnaise.
     Add 1 small squeeze of lemon juice.
     Add 1/2 tablespoon of finely minced onion.
     Add 1/2 tablespoon of finely chopped roasted red bell pepper.
     Add 1 tablespoon of finely chopped celery.
     Add 1 pinch of chopped parsley.
     Add sea salt and white pepper.
     Mix the dressing thoroughly.
     Add 1/2 tablespoon of capelin roe (Japanese Masago) and gently stir.
    
     Seafood Salad with Roasted Garlic and Capelin Roe Dressing:
     Heat 4 cups of water in a sauce pot over high heat.
     Add 2 pinches of sea salt and a squeeze of lemon juice.
     Bring the liquid to a boil.
     Add a 3 or 4 ounce piece of flounder filet. 
     Add 3 or 4 large peeled and deveined shrimp.
     Add 3 medium size bay scallops.
     When the flounder, scallops and shrimp are nearly fully cooked, add 1/2 cup of sliced squid.
     Poach for about 1 minute more, till the squid becomes fully cooked.
     Drain off the hot water off of the seafood.
     Cool the seafood under cold running water.
     Drain the water off of the seafood.
     Slice the shrimp into small pieces.
     Break the flounder filet into small chunks.
     Slice the scallops.
     Gently fold the seafood into the roasted garlic and capelin caviar mayonnaise dressing.
     The seafood should be thinly coated with the dressing.  Add a little bit more mayonnaise if the seafood looks dry or the dressing is stretched too thin.
   
     Presentation:
     Place a mound of chopped Boston Lettuce on the center of a plate.
     Place cucumber slices and plum tomato wedges around the lettuce mound on the plate.
     Place some very fine julienne sliced carrot strips on the lettuce.
     Mix 1 tablespoon of virgin olive oil and 1/2 teaspoon of lemon juice together in a small bowl.
     Drizzle the lemon oil over the lettuce, cucumbers and tomato.
     Place the roasted garlic, capelin roe seafood salad on top of the lettuce.
     Sprinkle capelin caviar over the top of the seafood salad.
     Garnish with a parsley sprig and a lemon slice.
    
     Tasty!  The roasted garlic flavor is very mellow and rich.  Poached seafood and roasted garlic mayonnaise dressing go great together.  The mild capelin roe adds a nice mellow roe flavor to this salad too.  Yummy!  ...  Shawna