| Level: | Intermediate |
| Total: | 2 hr 20 min |
| Prep: | 40 min |
| Cook: | 1 hr 40 min |
| Yield: | 4 to 6 servings |
Ingredients
- 2 lobsters
- 5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 leeks, halved lengthwise
- 2 onions, halved
- 2 stalks celery, in big chunks
- 2 carrots, in big chunks
- 6 sprigs fresh thyme
- 4 strips orange zest
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1/2 cup cognac
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 4 cups heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon whole peppercorns
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Finely grated orange zest, for garnish
- Finely chopped chives, for garnish
- Grilled Brie and Tomato, optional, recipe follows
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
- 6 (1/2-inch thick) slices crusty bread
- 1/2 pound brie, sliced thin
Instructions
- Dispatch the lobsters by plunging a sharp knife directly behind its head. Cut the lobster in half lengthwise; make sure to collect the juices that will run out. Remove the claws and tail pieces and set aside. Remove the head sac and liver and discard them; cut the body into pieces. Alternately, you can have your fishmonger do this.
- Heat 3 tablespoons olive oil in a large pot over medium heat and melt 3 tablespoons butter in it. Add the chopped lobster bodies and heads and their juices, the leeks, 1 onion, celery, carrots, 1/2 the thyme, 1/2 the orange zest and the tomato paste. Cook until the shells are red and the vegetables are soft, about 10 to 15 minutes. Remove the pot from the heat and carefully pour in 1/4 cup cognac. Ignite the cognac with a long kitchen match and let the alcohol burn off. Return to the heat, sprinkle in the flour, stir, and cook for another 2 minutes. Add water to cover and stir up all the browned bits on the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon. Add the cream and bring to a boil. Immediately decrease the heat and gently simmer until the soup is reduced and thickened, about 30 to 45 minutes. Strain this into a clean pot and season with salt and pepper if needed; keep warm.
- Meanwhile, heat the oven to 400 degrees F. Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil and 2 tablespoons butter in an ovenproof skillet over medium heat. Add remaining onion, thyme, bay leaf, and orange zest along with the peppercorns and let this mixture cook for about 5 minutes. Add the lobster claws and tails; toss to coat with the fat and flavors. Remove the pan from the heat and carefully pour in the remaining 1/4 cup cognac. Ignite the cognac with a long kitchen match and let the alcohol burn off. Put the pan into the oven and roast until the lobster pieces are cooked through, about 15 minutes. Remove the lobster pieces and set aside. When they are cool enough to handle, remove the lobster meat from the claws and tails. Chop the meat roughly and add it to the strained bisque.
- To serve, ladle the bisque into warmed soup bowls. Top with the Grilled Brie and Tomato, if desired.
- Heat the broiler. Put the cherry tomatoes onto a baking sheet, drizzle them with olive oil, and season them with salt and pepper. Broil them until they burst; set them aside.
- Butter the bread on both sides and top each with several slices of brie. Broil until the cheese is bubbling and slightly browned. Top with the tomatoes. Serve immediately.
- Yield: 6 servings
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 6 servings |
| Calories | 1195 |
| Total Fat | 102 g |
| Saturated Fat | 55 g |
| Carbohydrates | 39 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 6 g |
| Sugar | 13 g |
| Protein | 26 g |
| Cholesterol | 359 mg |
| Sodium | 1184 mg |
Reviews
The methods I typically use creates less of a sauce like taste & more of a seafood soup taste, but it also takes more time.
I boil the lobster bodies minus the meat, in 4C sea food stock with veg. & 1C water until red, than reduce to a simmer, covered for 1 hr. than strain the veg./shells & add sherry & a bit of brandy bring back to a boil for a couple min. reduce to a simmer than add cream or half & half with a 1/2 cup of slurry, cover & cook for 10 to 15 min putting in the raw meat cut in 1 to 2 inch pieces the last 3 or 4 min.
Cooking the meat last in the soup keeps the meat from being over cooked. (especially if your soup is served buffet style or at a catered event) It’s also is better when re-heating leftovers.
I tossed the vegetables in olive oil then roasted them for 30-45 min in a 450 deg oven, stirring occassionally. I added fennel, and both white and yellow onions instead of Leeks, since I had them laying around and didn’t want to run to the store. I had the other items and roasted them as well. In the mean time I chopped up the lobster then warmed it up in a little olive oil, then poured into a bowl on the side. Since I had about 2-3 times as many vegies and lobster I poured 1 cup of Cognac’ into the pot that I used to warm the lobster; then set it a fire…don’t let your wife catch you standing in the middle of the kitchen doing this, she may call the fire dept.
Shortly after I poured the roasted veggies into the “cooked” cognac, added the tomato pasted and 3 cans of chicken broth instead of water. I never needed the flour since it was rather thick Next, in small portions, I blended the veggies until smooth, adding the whipping cream to thin it out and blend better. Then, I poured it all back into a large stock pot, added the chopped lobster and simmered for 30min.
This only took 2hrs due to preping the Lobster the night before.
Suggestions: Add more tomato paste (I did use 4 Tbl), and to give it a little more kick add some cayenne pepper. But, this might be due to the fact that I modified the recipe.
The recipe isn’t terribly complicated (though not sure the roasting of the claws/tail does anything to add flavor that steaming those parts wouldn’t accomplish). But following the recipe exactly yields a very thin broth without a very nice/deep flavor. I needed to add more flour at the end after straining and let it simmer for a while longer to get the soup to a more bisque-like texture. Also I stirred in a little extra cognac at the end. Even then the flavor was just never at a level that you’d want a lobster bisque to have.
Bottom line: if you’re going to indulge in lobster one night, do not use this recipe as it results in a pretty flavorless, soupy final product. I’d suggest Ina’s lobster pot pie or her lobster chowder.
Here were the changes that I made to add some more depth to this bisque. 1. tiny tiny bit of Saffron for color 2. a bit of cayenne 3. some peppercorns 4. fresh tarragon 4. more thyme 5. bit of butter swirled in just before serving 6. tiny bit of paprika 7. just seafood stock and no water
My hubby, who is a finicky eater, loved this bisque. I, on the other hand, am a super fussy eater, and I thought it was good, but not mind-blowing. I also had to let it simmer an addition 45 min (maybe an hour) to extract more flavor.
It’s a relatively easy dish to make, and the results were good.
Tyler’s books are fantastic also. Can’t wait till Christmas so I am amaze my friends once again!