I’m so thankful some people are picky eaters! A few years ago we attended a wedding reception, and sat at table with several people we didn’t know. The first course of the dinner was a tiny bowl of lobster bisque. Some people don’t like seafood! Hooray! I got to eat their soup course, which totally made my evening.
My love affair with seafood began on a trip to Maine as a child. My dad went lobster fishing with his buddy, and we ate wonderful steamed clams and lobster.
This love increased quickly with travels to Scandinavia and other parts of the world where seafood is a primary part of the diet. Some of my faves include:
- Halibut tacos in Alaska
- Calamari rings in Australia
- Fish and Chips in Ireland
- Steamed shrimp in Norway
- Swordfish in California
- Octopus in Sweden
In fact, as far as I can recall, the only seafood I didn’t like was eel. And then there’s lutefisk. I belong to the “Just Say NO!” club when lutefisk is served. So, I guess there are two items from the sea that make me gag.
Anyway, back to this lovely bisque. It is super-simple to make – whether you choose to use a boxed seafood broth or make your own with the lobster shells. I prefer homemade, partly because of how incredible the house smells while cooking it. The flavour is richer, yet without a ridiculous amount of sodium.
It’s so simple to purchase frozen lobster tails when they are on sale. I pick up several packages when they are buy-one-get-one at our local grocery. It is key to let them thaw before using, though. With a kitchen shears, cut a slice up the under side of each tail, and gently pull out the meat.
Boiling the lobster shells along with all the veggies makes the most incredible base for bisque.
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Lobster Bisque
- Yield: 6-8 1x
Description
A perfectly delicious soup
Ingredients
- 4 lobster tails, thawed
- 3 c water
- 1 small onion, diced
- 4 cloves garlic, sliced
- 2 carrots, diced
- 2 stalks celery, diced
- 1/2 c dry white wine
- 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tsp Louisiana hot sauce
- 1 tsp paprika
- 2 Tbsp fresh thyme leaves
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 Tbsp oil
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 2 Tbsp tomato paste
- 1 1/4 c heavy cream
Instructions
- Using a kitchen shears, slice up the center of the under side of each lobster tail. Gently pull out all the meat, put into a covered dish, and return to the refrigerator. Don’t throw the shells away yet!
- In a medium sized pot, cook lobster shells, thyme, paprika, onion, garlic, carrots and celery in 3 cups water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 1 hour, poking down shells occasionally.
- Using tongs, carefully remove the shells and discard. Pour soup base into a blender and process until very smooth.
- Return soup to pan, add white wine, worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, and salt. Place over very low heat to keep warm.
- Chop lobster meat. Heat a small fry pan over medium heat, add oil and lobster. While the meat is cooking, add the tomato sauce and black pepper. Let it all cook together until the meat is opaque, but not over-cooked. (This only takes a couple minutes.)
- Add the lobster mixture to the soup, pour in the cream, and heat through.
Notes
If using purchased seafood stock, this only takes about 20 minutes to make.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 4-6 ounce servings
