Why is the salad called "mock" lobster salad?

Because it contains no lobster. It is made from flaked, cooked fish and boiled celeriac, and tinted pale pink with lobster coloring so it looks like real lobster salad.

How do I mix the dressing correctly?

Stir together 5 tablespoons oil, 1 dessert spoon vinegar, 1/4 teaspoon white pepper and 1 tablespoon finely chopped parsley. Stir the lobster coloring into a teaspoon of water and add only enough to make the sauce pale pink. Season with salt and pour the sauce over the fish.

What is used for garnish?

The recipe garnishes the salad with cress or finely cut lettuce leaves.

Which fish can be used?

The original says only "flaked, cooked fish" - that is, leftover cooked fish picked into pieces. A small plateful is enough for 4 servings together with the celeriac.

Mock Lobster Salad

Name: Mock Lobster Salad
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 45 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Norwegian
Ingredients: 300 g cooked fish (flaked into pieces, cooled); 1 pcs celeriac (small, boiled); 5 tbsp oil; 1 tbsp vinegar (scant); 0.25 tsp white pepper; 1 tbsp finely chopped parsley; 1 tsp tomato paste (replaces lobster coloring, stirred into 1 tsp water); salt (to taste); cress or finely cut lettuce leaves (for garnish)

Mock (imitation) lobster salad from Erken 1914: poached fish and boiled celeriac in a pale-pink dressing of oil, vinegar, pepper and parsley, tinted with lobster coloring (today tomato paste), garnished with cress.

Source: Henriette Schønberg Erken, Stor kokebok, 1914-utg. s. 412 (falt i det fri)

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About the dish

"Forloren" means imitated - this is an affordable substitute for the costly lobster salad, made from cooked fish and celeriac and tinted pale pink with lobster coloring so it resembled the real thing. Such "mock" dishes were common in Erken's household economy.

How to make it

1
Boil the celeriac
Boil the celeriac in lightly salted water until tender. Cool it and cut it into fairly small cubes.
2
Mix with the fish
Mix the celeriac cubes with the cooled, flaked fish.
3
Make the sauce
Stir together the oil, vinegar, pepper and parsley. Stir the tomato paste (or lobster coloring) into a teaspoon of water and add a little at a time until the sauce is pale pink. Season with salt.
4
Assemble
Pour the sauce over the fish and mix gently. Garnish the salad with cress or finely cut lettuce leaves.

Changes from the original

The ingredient list has been separated out from the jumbled two-column OCR text. "Lobster coloring" does not exist today; it has been replaced with tomato paste or paprika to give a pale-pink color. "A plateful" has been given in grams.

Time machine – what changed?

Pick two editions and see what Henriette Schønberg Erken added, removed or changed between them.

From1914 1949 Modernised

To1914 1949 Modernised

1949 (proofread, p. 458) → Modernised~85% of the text changedremovedadded

~~1 liten tallerkenfull opplukket,~~ 300 g kokt fisk ~~2 spiseskjeer matolje 1 dessertskje eddik~~ (plukket i biter, avkjølt). 1 stk sellerirot ~~1/4 teskje~~ (liten, kokt). 5 ss olje. 1 ss eddik (knapp). 0,25 ts hvit ~~pepper~~ pepper. 1 ~~spiseskje~~ ss finhakket ~~persille hummerfarve. Sellerien kokes, skjæres ganske smått op~~ persille. 1 ts tomatpuré (erstatter hummerfarve, utrørt i 1 ts vann). salt (etter smak). karse eller finskårne salatblad (til pynt). Kok sellerirota i lettsaltet vann til den er mør. Avkjøl og ~~blandes~~ skjær den i ganske små terninger.. Bland selleriterningene med ~~fisken. Olje,~~ den avkjølte, plukkede fisken.. Rør sammen olje, eddik, pepper og ~~persille røres sammen, tilsettes hummerfarve, som er utrørt~~ persille. Rør tomatpuré (eller hummerfarge) ut i en teskje ~~vann; av denne tas så meget at~~ vann og tilsett litt om litt til sausen ~~blir~~ er lyserød. ~~Sausen helles~~ Smak til med salt.. Hell sausen over ~~fisken,~~ fisken og bland forsiktig. Pynt salaten ~~pyntes~~ med karse eller finskårne ~~salatblade.~~ salatblad.

Note on Modernised

Ingredienslisten er skilt ut fra den sammenblandede tospaltede OCR-teksten. «Hummerfarve» finnes ikke i dag; erstattet med tomatpuré eller paprikapulver for å gi lyserød farge. «Tallerkenfuld» er oppgitt som gram.

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Frequently asked questions

Why is the salad called "mock" lobster salad?: Because it contains no lobster. It is made from flaked, cooked fish and boiled celeriac, and tinted pale pink with lobster coloring so it looks like real lobster salad.
How do I mix the dressing correctly?: Stir together 5 tablespoons oil, 1 dessert spoon vinegar, 1/4 teaspoon white pepper and 1 tablespoon finely chopped parsley. Stir the lobster coloring into a teaspoon of water and add only enough to make the sauce pale pink. Season with salt and pour the sauce over the fish.
What is used for garnish?: The recipe garnishes the salad with cress or finely cut lettuce leaves.
Which fish can be used?: The original says only "flaked, cooked fish" - that is, leftover cooked fish picked into pieces. A small plateful is enough for 4 servings together with the celeriac.

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