Lobster Bisque

A few months ago, my husband Justin and I took a cooking class at Sur La Table.  The theme of the night was French Date Night, and the first dish we cooked was a Lobster Bisque.  Now considering the fact that I grew up going to Maine, have been going to Maine every year with Justin, and grew up eating lobster you would think somewhere along the line I would have tried Lobster Bisque.....wrong.  For some reason, I have never ordered it in a restaurant or had it at home before...so when I tasted this soup, I almost died with flavor happiness. This bisque is so incredibly flavorful, easy to make, and super elegant to serve at a dinner party.  I changed up a few of the ingredients from the soup we made in the cooking class, and I love the flavor it adds!  One of the key tricks that I learned was in the first step listed below, where you actually use the leftover lobster tail shells to infuse flavor -- it is probably one of the most important steps in this meal.

I served this dish as a starter for our Thanksgiving dinner and it was a huge hit with everyone...in fact for New Year's Eve, Justin requested we not only eat Whole Lobsters, but that I make a the Lobster Bisque as a starter.... lobster infatuation....

Lobster Bisque

Yields: 4 servings

1 tbsp. Olive Oil

2-3 Lobster Tails, cooked, meat removed

1 Medium Onion, chopped

1 Carrot, Chopped

1 Celery Stalk, chopped

1 Tomato, chopped

6 Garlic Cloves, chopped

2 tbsp. Fresh Tarragon

2 tbsp. Fresh Thyme Leaves

1 tsp. crushed Bay Leaf (or 1 bay leaf)

8 black Peppercorns

½ cup Brandy

¼ cup Rice Vinegar

4 Cups Fish Stock

¼ Tomato Paste

½ Cup Heavy Cream

2 tbsp. Cornstarch

2 tbsp. Water

1.    Chop up your lobster meat and set aside.  Also, chop up the lobster shells.  In a large pot, add your Olive Oil and Lobster shells.  Cook for 10 minutes, stirring frequently.

2. Now add in your onion, carrot, celery, tomato, garlic, tarragon, thyme, bay leaf, peppercorns, Brandy and rice vinegar.  Cook for at least 10 minutes.  Then add in your fish stock. Cook for 30 minutes, uncovered on a low simmer.

3.     At this point, take your broth and pour it through a sieve and into another pot.  You want to remove all solids from the broth, leaving just a nice seasoned broth.

4.    Discard of solids and bring the broth back to a simmer.  Add in your tomato paste and simmer for 10 minutes.

5.     Add in cream and simmer for another 5 minutes.

6.    In a small bowl whisk together your cornstarch and water (this will becoming a soup thickening agent). Add the cornstarch mixture and your lobster meat to the pot cook for a few minutes, serve hot.

The great thing about this Bisque is that it's not super heavy, so it's great for both the winter and summer!