Lobster recipe: Creamy Lobster Bisque

Creamy Lobster Bisque Recipe

Ingredients (4-6 servings):
2 FRESH lobsters (about 1 pound each)
250g Roma tomato
150g red onion
50g green onion
75g celery
75g green pepper
75g red pepper
10g fresh thyme
1 big bay leaf
dill sprigs (for garnish)
35% cream
white wine

How to make the Creamy Lobster Bisque:
1. Use cold water and a brush to clean the shells of the lobsters. Take out the grayish and feathery lungs in the head. Turn around a lobster with the back facing you. There is a hole at the end of the tail. Put a chopstick inside and quickly pull that out. You can then see the body fluid running out from the lobster. Do the same with the other lobster.


2. Bit by bit, piece by piece, take the meat out of the tail and the claws. I like to use a pair of scissors to help with this. Mince.

3. Keep all the shells and put them in a soup bag. Two things to bear in mind: (i) for better presentation, keep the lobster tails intact after removing them from the shells and (ii) save the lobster roe (that is the gem and spirit of the lobster bisque)! Keep the meat and roe in the fridge just before use.

4. Cut all the vegetables into big chunks. Don’t worry about making them the same size as you will throw them away in the end.

5. Melt about 20g of salted butter in a large stock pot using medium-low heat. When it starts bubbling up, start putting in the green onion, red onion, red/green peppers and celery. When you start smelling the flavours of all the vegetables, put in the tomatoes.

6. Put the bag of lobster shells on top of the vegetables. Add 7 cup of water. Throw in the fresh thyme and the bay leaf. Turn the heat to high and bring it to boil. Stir occasionally to prevent sticking.

7. When it is boiled, turn to really low heat. Keep it at the level for at least four hours (I sometimes do six hours if I can afford the time).

8. When the broth is ready, strain it using a big sieve. Discard all shells, vegetables and herbs. You can use the broth to make the lobster bisque right away or you can put them in the fridge overnight. You will have about 2L-3L of stock now, much more than you need for 4-6 servings.

7. When you are ready to make the lobster bisque, use a smaller stock pot for this (mine is a 1.5L stock pot). Again, melt a small chunk of salted butter using medium low heat.

8. Put the lobster roe in. Stir VERY quickly to avoid any sticking. Put all the minced lobster meat in. Mix with 1 Tbsp of flour.

9. For 4 servings, add 1/4 cup of white wine, 2-3 cup of lobster broth and 2/3 cup of 35 cream. Bring to boil. Finish it by adding another 1/4 cup of white wine.

10. To add colour to the soup, add a small can of tomato paste, about 150 ml, in the lobster bisque. Add more cream or flour until you get your desire colour/thickness. Taste it and add salt/black pepper as required.

11. Garnish with dill sprigs.