Lobster Bisque

INGREDIENTS:
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter
1 medium onion, chopped
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 medium carrot, peeled and chopped
1 bay leaf
3 sprigs fresh thyme or 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
4 to 8 lobster bodies, cooked or uncooked. Or imitation lobster (Sold near imitation crab)
1 cup white grape juice
1 cup cored, peeled, seeded, and chopped tomatoes (canned are fine, don't bother to drain)
6 cups chicken or fish stock, or strained liquid reserved from boiling lobsters
1 cup heavy cream
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Minced fresh parsley leaves for garnish

INSTRUCTIONS:

Place 2 tablespoons of the butter in a large, deep saucepan or casserole over medium heat. When it melts, add the onion, garlic, carrot, bay leaf, and thyme and cook, stirring, until the onion softens, 5 to 10 minutes.

Add the lobster bodies and, if they are uncooked, cook, stirring, until they turn red, about 10 minutes (if they are already cooked, cook, stirring, about 5 minutes).

Add the white grape juice and tomatoes and turn the heat to medium-high. Bring to a boil, then turn the heat to low, cover, and cook for 10 minutes.

Add the stock, turn the heat to high, and bring back to a boil. Once again, turn the heat to low and cover; cook 20 minutes. Remove the bay leaf and thyme sprigs. Remove the lobster shells, crack them if necessary, and pick off any meat you find. Return the bits of meat to the soup (reserve any large pieces of meat you have for the final addition, below).

Pass the soup through a food mill or puree it in a blender. (You may prepare the soup in advance up to this point. Cover, refrigerate for up to 2 days, and reheat before proceeding.) Return the soup to the pot and bring to a boil. Add the remaining butter, in bits, until it melts. Add the cream and any bits of lobster meat and heat through. Season with salt and pepper, garnish, and serve.

3 comments:

GinaBeana said...

Goodness, girl!! Have you made this?!?! You amaze me! I would love to be a better cook!

Teri said...

No, I've never made this one. However, there is a restaurant here that has lobster bisque and it's a GREAT soup. This looked closet to what they had in their soup so I thought it would be close enough. Everything else I've made, though.

Teri said...

Update: I've made it and it is delicious!