This past weekend Cliff and I went o Virginia/Washington D.C. to visit our friends Amanda and Kyle and also to celebrate my birthday. I’m not going to tell you which birthday, but it was a big one so use your imagination. We did lots of blog “research” while we were there, aka, we ate a lot! We had an amazing time, but I think I gained about 10lbs! There were quite a few meals we ate while there that I look forward to making at home.
Lobster bisque is one my favorite foods. Have you ever been to Texas de Brazil? It is one of those all you can eat meat restaurants. Cliff and I go there once in awhile and even though I like the meat, I’m really there for the lobster bisque. It is the best lobster bisque I have ever had. I have wanted to try to make lobster bisque at home for years but I could never find a recipe that I thought I’d like as much. When I saw this one I figured I should give it a try. It was not quote as good as the Texas de Brazil one but it was a close second. I did make one mistake though; I over salted the bisque. I had to keep adding tomatoes and chicken broth to try to save it. But don’t worry; you won’t make the same mistake I did. The part I loved best about this soup was the lobster. Many times at restaurants you get a few tiny pieces of lobster. Obviously, when you make it at home you can change it however you want. I made this for our New Year’s Eve party and everyone got ½ a lobster tail. It was amazing, and I will be making it again without so much salt!!! This is a great recipe to make for Valentine’s Day!
Here is what you'll need
Cut the lobster tails in half with scissors
Steam the lobsters for about 7 minutes
Remove the meat from the shells and saute the shells with olive oil
Deglaze the pan with the water, wine, and chicken stock
Simmer about 45 minutes. I had to switch to a bigger pot!
Strain the shells and put the stock back into the pot
Saute the celery and shallots with butter until soft and fragrant
Add the shallots, celery, tomatoes, thyme, bay leaf, cayenne, paprika, brandy and rice to the pot. Simmer an additional 45 minutes.
Remove from heat and blend with an immersion blender
Add the heavy cream
And the lemon juice
Just before serving saute the lobsters with a little butter
Our first attempt at lobster bisque was a huge success!
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Note: The recipe below makes about 6 cups but I doubled mine
Ingredients
2 lobster tails, split in half
4 cups water
½ Tablespoon kosher salt
2 Tablespoons olive oil
2 cups white wine
3 cups chicken stock
¼ cup unsalted butter plus 1 Tablespoon
½ cup celery, chopped
1 shallot, chopped
14 ounce can diced tomatoes
2 Tablespoons brandy
2 Tablespoons raw white rice
1 Tablespoon tomato paste
1 teaspoon paprika
1/8 teaspoon cayenne
1 bay leaf
1 thyme sprig
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
Directions
First make sure that your lobster tails are completely thawed if you purchased frozen. Cut each tail in half with scissors. Devein the split tail if there is a vein. Steam the lobster tails, shell-side down in 4 cups salted water. This is where I went wrong. I just dumped a bunch of salt in there like I would if I was making pasta. Only use ½ tablespoon. I steamed my lobster in a steaming basket for 7 minutes. Reserve the water for the stock.
Once the lobsters are cooled remove the meat from the shell. Refrigerate the lobster meat until ready to serve. Sauté the lobster shells in 2 Tablespoons olive oil over medium-high heat for five minutes. Deglaze the pan with the white wine, chicken stock and reserved lobster water from the steaming of the tails. Simmer for 45 minutes 45 minutes. Strain out the shells and discard them.
While the stock is simmering chop the celery and shallots and sauté in ¼ cup butter until fragrant.
Add the celery, shallots, diced tomatoes, brandy, raw white rice, tomato paste, paprika, cayenne, bay leaf and thyme sprig to the soup. Simmer and additional 45 minutes and remove the bay leaf and thyme sprig. Remove from heat and blend the soup using either a blender or an immersion blender. I personally like to use my immersion blender for soups. Stir in heavy cream and fresh lemon juice.
You can make this portion of the soup earlier in the day and reheat it when you are ready to serve it. At the last minute, sauté the lobster meat in a tablespoon of butter until warm. Place the lobster tail in a soup bowl and add a couple ladles full of soup.
Source: Adapted from The Noble Pig
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