Sarra Ina Garten’s lobster pasta salad is small shell pasta and fresh corn tossed with diced lobster meat, cherry tomatoes, bell pepper, and scallions in a creamy dressing of mayonnaise, sour cream, lemon juice, and three quarters of a cup of fresh dill. It serves 8 and takes about 30 minutes of active work plus up to 6 hours of chill time.
This recipe appears in Ina’s Barefoot Contessa How Easy Is That? cookbook (2010) under the name “Lobster & Shells.” In the headnote, she writes that it is her “homage” to the famous Ziti Salad from The Store, a specialty food shop in Amagansett, New York, that defined Hamptons summer parties in the 1970s. She tried the original again recently and found it “had less flavor than I remembered,” so she upgraded it with lobster, corn, tomatoes, and dill, calling it “very summer in the Hamptons.”
The technique that makes this work is cooking the corn kernels directly in the pasta water for the last 2 minutes of the boil. This one-pot move saves a step, seasons the corn with the same salt as the pasta, and ensures both finish at the exact same time. It also cooks the corn just enough to turn tender and sweet without going mushy, which is what happens when you boil corn on its own for too long.
Ina Garten Lobster Pasta Salad Recipe
Course: Salads, Sides, MainCuisine: AmericanDifficulty: Easy8
servings20
minutes13
minutes400
kcalIna’s luxe summer pasta salad from her How Easy Is That? cookbook, born as an upgrade to a famous 1970s Hamptons party dish. Shell pasta and corn cook together in one pot, then get tossed with lobster, tomatoes, and a dill-loaded mayo dressing that improves with hours of chill time.
Ingredients
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Kosher salt
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Good olive oil
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1/2 pound (225g) small pasta shells, such as Ronzoni
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Kernels from 4 ears of corn (about 3 cups)
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6 scallions, white and green parts, thinly sliced
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1 yellow or orange bell pepper, seeded and small-diced
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1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
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1 pound (450g) cooked fresh lobster meat, medium-diced
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3/4 cup (180ml) good mayonnaise
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1/2 cup (120ml) sour cream
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1/4 cup (60ml) freshly squeezed lemon juice (2 lemons)
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Freshly ground black pepper
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3/4 cup (35g) minced fresh dill
Directions
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Cook the pasta and corn: Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add 1 tablespoon salt and a drizzle of olive oil. Add the pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes until al dente. Add the corn kernels to the pasta water and cook together for 2 more minutes until the corn is tender. Drain together in a colander.
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Combine the salad: Pour the drained pasta and corn into a large mixing bowl. Add the scallions, diced bell pepper, halved tomatoes, and lobster meat. Toss gently to combine and allow to cool slightly.
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Make the dressing: In a small bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, sour cream, lemon juice, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper until smooth.
- Dress and chill: Pour the dressing over the pasta mixture and mix well to bind the ingredients. Stir in the dill, 4 teaspoons salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for up to 6 hours. Check the seasoning and serve chilled or at room temperature.
Notes
- Ina says to use small shells “so that the corn kernels can get stuck inside them.” This means every bite has both pasta and corn together instead of eating them separately.
If the dressing thickens too much after chilling, add a few tablespoons of milk, cream, or lemon juice to thin it. The pasta continues absorbing liquid as it sits.
Four to five 1-pound lobsters will yield about 1 pound of cooked lobster meat. You can also buy precooked lobster meat from a good fishmonger to save time.
FAQs
Why does Ina cook the corn in the pasta water?
Adding the corn kernels to the boiling pasta water for the final 2 minutes is a one-pot trick that saves a step without sacrificing flavor. The corn picks up salt from the heavily salted pasta water, so it arrives pre-seasoned when it hits the mixing bowl.
Two minutes is the sweet spot for corn kernels. Any longer and they lose their snap and turn starchy. Pulling them out with the pasta at the same time means both cool at the same rate, so neither one sits around getting soggy while you wait for the other.
Why does Ina insist on small shells?
Ina writes that “it’s important to use small shells so that the corn kernels can get stuck inside them.” This means every forkful has both pasta and corn together instead of plain shells from one bite and loose corn from the next.
Small shells also hold pockets of the mayo-sour cream dressing inside their curves. Larger shells or a flat pasta like penne would let the dressing slide off. Ronzoni is the brand Ina calls for, but any small shell pasta works as long as the shape is small enough to catch individual corn kernels.
Can you make lobster pasta salad ahead of time?
Ina says to chill for up to 6 hours to let the flavors develop, which makes this ideal for making in the morning and serving at lunch or dinner. The salad sits in the fridge, the flavors meld, and you do no last-minute work beyond checking the seasoning.
If the dressing thickens after chilling, Ina says to thin it with a few tablespoons of milk, cream, or lemon juice. Taste for salt before serving because cold food always needs more. While the salad chills, set out Ina’s Creamy Cucumber Salad as a cool starter alongside. Both are make-ahead summer dishes that improve with time in the fridge.
What other lobster salads does Ina make?
Ina’s Lobster & Potato Salad from Foolproof (2012) takes a completely different approach. She replaces the pasta with Yukon Gold potatoes and swaps the mayo dressing for a lemon-mustard vinaigrette with capers, tarragon, and white wine. The result is lighter and more French bistro than summer cookout.
She also has a Lobster Cobb Salad from Family Style (2002) that layers lobster over greens with bacon, eggs, and blue cheese. Both use the same “dress while warm” technique she applies across her salads, including her Dill Potato Salad from At Home.
Can you use different seafood instead of lobster?
Shrimp is the most natural swap, and Ina uses the same pasta-and-summer-vegetable approach in her Roasted Shrimp and Orzo from Barefoot Contessa at Home (2006). Use about 1 pound of cooked, diced shrimp in place of the lobster and the salad works beautifully at a fraction of the cost.
Crabmeat also works but adds more sweetness, so cut the corn by a cup to keep the salad from tipping too far in that direction. Avoid canned or imitation seafood because the texture is too soft and the flavor too flat to hold up against the mayo dressing and fresh dill.
