Does anyone have a fantastic recipe? Regular or low cal. I realize a low-cal bisque will be tough, but I thought I’d ask anyway.
Now that live lobsters are reasonable here in Massachusetts, I’ve made this bisque a couple of times to rave reviews.
2 1.5 lb. live lobsters
1 medium onion
1 celery rib
1 carrot
1 vine-ripened tomato
1 head garlic
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoons chopped fresh basil leaves
2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme leaves
1 bay leaf
8 black peppercorns
1/2 cup brandy
1/2 cup dry Sherry
4 cups clam juice
1/4 cup tomato paste
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons water
Put lobsters headfirst into 6 qts of boiling water and cook, covered, over high heat for 8 minutes. Reserve 2 cups cooking liquid, and let lobster stand until cool enough to handle. Catch the juices in a bowl as you twist off tail and claws. Reserve juices. Discard head sacs and any roe, save the green tomalley. Remove meat from the shells. Save the shells and body. Coarsely chop the partially cooked meat, cover and chill in a bowl.
Chop onion, celery, carrot, and tomato and halve garlic head. In a 6-quart heavy pot, heat oil until hot but not smoking and sauté reserved lobster shells for about 8 minutes stirring occasionally. Add the chopped vegetables, garlic, herbs, peppercorns, brandy, and Sherry. Simmer and stir until almost all liquid is gone, about 5 minutes. Add clam juice, tomalley and cooking liquid, and cook uncovered for 1 hour. Stir from time to time.
Pour mixture through cheescloth into a large saucepan; discard the solids. Whisk in tomato paste, simmer and recduce to about 3 cups. Add cream and simmer for 5 minutes. Stir together cornstarch and water in a cup, and whisk into liquid. Simmer bisque for 2 minutes. Add lobster meat and simmer bisque until lobster meat is just cooked through, about a minute. Season with salt and pepper.
Enjoy!
Where’s the part where you grind up the shells?
Thank you, Loisseau! This sounds fantastic!
I made the mistake of trying a recipe with cream cheese as a shortcut. Oiy.