Recipe: Chef Sam Talbot’s super-popular Shellfish Salad

For just a few short weeks, Zachary Lynd’s Turf‚ which has been known for its amazing lobster rolls since 2011, served haute healthy cuisine prepared by Top Chef alum Sam Talbot out of a 1967 Airstream Trailer parked in the sand at Ditch Plains.

For Talbot, however, it turns out the food truck (ahem, trailer), was just an early summer fling. At the beach on Sunday, customers who loved Talbot’s fresh juices, fish tacos, and salads griped about the truck’s return to the single mayo-heavy menu item (while scarfing down said item), and gossiped about his absence.

Talbot offered a cryptic explanation on Twitter. “And I will no longer be involved with TURF. I’m looking forward to announcing my next endeavor which I’m very excited about shortly,” he wrote.

If you missed the short Montauk affair, you can get a tiny taste by whipping up Talbot’s Shellfish Salad, one of the menu’s most popular items, using the recipe we scored, below. —Lisa Elaine Held

Shellfish Salad with Summer Herbs and Sugar Plums

3 oz. cooked lobster3 cooked 16/20 shrimp, split in half lengthwise1 cup of flowering pea shoots8 basil leaves hand torn a few times8 mint leaves hand torn a few times2 sugar plums, quartered1 lemon juiced1 tbsp chopped lemongrass, sautéed until translucent1 tbsp chopped ginger, sautéed until translucent about 2 mins1/2 tsp chili paste or Sriracha2 tbsp olive oilSea saltCracked pink peppercorns

Toss gently all of the ingredients except the pea shoots. Add those last very gently. Season well.