Lobster Bisque
This recipe is spectacular if I do say so myself. If you are able, I recommend you go the extra mile by making your own shellfish stock. I will include my shellfish stock recipe after the bisque one, but please try to make your own stock if you have the time because it makes a difference. It’s easy to freeze and save for future use as the recipe makes a good amount of stock. There are other uses for the stock besides soup which I will share in the near future (spoiler alert), like a good seafood risotto. As you can see above, I decided to enter into the world of professional hand modeling.
Ingredients :
12 oz chopped lobster meat (3 small tails)
2 cups seafood stock
1/2 cup white wine (I use Sauvignon Blanc)
1 oz brandy
1 cup chopped white onion
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/3 cup chopped carrots
1 tbsp tomato paste
3 tbsp flour
2 sprigs thyme
2 bay leaves
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp (hot) smoked paprika
2 tbsp butter
6 oz heavy whipping cream
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground pepper
** optional** 1/4 tsp cayenne (if using hot paprika you probably don’t need cayenne)
parsley for garnish if desired
Directions :
Take a large stock pot and set to medium heat. Start by melting the butter, then add the onions, celery, carrots and garlic and sauté for 4 minutes (see photo above at his point). Stir regularly. Next add the tomato paste and mix in well. Continue cooking for another minute then sprinkle in the flour. Again, stir well so all the vegetables are evenly coated with the flour and cook another minute. Lower temperature to simmer (below boiling with no bubbles), then add white wine, seafood stock, brandy, paprika, thyme, bay leaves and lobster meat. Cook for 30 minutes uncovered and stir regularly to make sure nothing on the bottom burns. Remove the bay leaves and thyme. (If you want to plate it as I did above, remove a few pieces of the lobster meat, finely chop and set aside.) Stir in the heavy cream, salt and pepper. Puree the soup using an immersion blender (can also use a traditional blender) and blend on high until smooth. If you are looking to add cayenne, I would taste the soup now and determine how much if any you want to add at this point. Simply blend it in for another few seconds if adding any. Garnish and serve (with some nice grilled or toasted bread of course). Should make a little more than 3 cups of soup so enough for 4 - 6 depending on portions. And now on to the stock for those who are willing…..
The above photos might not look impressive, but it’s just to show you what the stock begins as and how it ends up. Use as a guide for how big the shells and vegetables should be.
Shellfish Stock Ingredients :
4 - 6 cups broken up pieces of shellfish (I used 4 lobster tails, 2 king crab legs and 12 shrimp shells)
2 tbsp olive oil
4 cloves of garlic , smashed (with flat side of knife to release the oils slightly) , but still whole
1 medium white onion , chopped into large pieces
2 celery stalks , chopped into large pieces
2 carrots , chopped into large pieces
1/3 cup white wine (I use Sauvignon Blanc)
2 bay leaves
4 sprigs thyme
1 tsp pepper
2 tsp salt
1 tbsp tomato paste
Directions :
Add olive oil to large stock pot and set to medium heat. Once up to temperature, add shells, onions, carrots and celery. Stir regularly and sauté for 10 minutes. Add garlic and sauté 5 more minutes, stirring regularly. Next add water, tomato paste, white wine, bay leaves, thyme, salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Once it boils reduce to simmer and cook uncovered for an hour, stirring every few minutes. I try and remove some of the foamy schmutz that can form at the top after it boils, but it’s not imperative as you strain it out later anyway. After the hour, remove from heat and strain out the liquid, discarding the rest. Feel free to strain twice if need be. You should have between 6-8 cups of stock, so proportion into a few batches ( 1 or 2 cups in each ziploc bag) and freeze what you won’t need in the near future. I mostly use for risotto which calls for about 3.5 cups of broth or for the bisque above which calls for 2 cups.
