Lobster Niçoise Salad

1. To prepare lobsters: Bring 4 inches of water to a rolling boil in a very large pot. Add lobsters, claw-side down; cover and cook until a leg pulls out easily, 14 to 16 minutes. Remove from the pot. When cool enough to handle, remove the tail and claws from the body. Cut open the tail with kitchen shears. Insert a fork into the tail on an angle and pull out the meat. Crack open the claws with a lobster cracker or nutcracker and remove the meat from the claw and knuckle. (The body is delicious to snack on: pull off the legs, crack open the body and eat the bits of meat inside.)

2. To prepare potatoes & green beans: Bring 1 inch of water to a boil in a large pot fitted with a steamer basket. Add potatoes, cover and cook until tender, 10 to 15 minutes. Remove to a cutting board to cool. Add more water to the pot, if necessary, so it's at least 1 inch deep. Add green beans to the steamer basket, cover and cook until bright green and just tender, 4 to 6 minutes. Rinse in a colander with cold water until cool. Drain thoroughly. When the potatoes are cool enough to handle, cut in half, if desired.

3. To prepare vinaigrette: Mash anchovies and salt in a medium bowl using the back of a spoon. Stir in pepper, lemon zest, lemon juice and chives. Whisk in oil in a slow steady stream until well combined.

4. To assemble salad: Arrange greens on a serving platter. Top with the lobster meat, potatoes, green beans, tomatoes and olives. Spoon about 1/4 cup of the vinaigrette over the top. Serve the remaining vinaigrette on the side.

Tips

To make ahead: Refrigerate cooked lobster, green beans, potatoes and vinaigrette separately for up to 1 day.