Servings: 6
1 Onion, sliced
1 Large Celery Stalk, sliced
1 Small Carrot, sliced
1 Garlic Head, cut in half crosswise
1 Tomato, sliced
2 Tablespoons Fresh Tarragon, chopped
2 Tablespoons Fresh Thyme, chopped
2 Bay Leaf
1 Kafir Lime Leaf
8 Whole Black Peppercorns
1/2 Cup Dry Sherry
4 Cups Chicken Broth, or clam juice
1/4 Cup Tomato Paste
1/2 Cup Whipping Cream
2 Teaspoons Cornstarch
1 Tablespoon Water
Salt and Pepper, to taste
- Bring large pot of water to boil. Add lobsters head first and boil 'til cooked through, ~8 minutes. Using tongs, transfer lobsters to a large bowl. Reserve 2C cooking liquid. Cool lobsters.
- Working over large bowl to catch juices, cut off lobster tails and claws. Remove lobster meat and chop coarsely; cover and chill. Coarsely chop lobster shells and bodies; transfer to medium bowl. Reserve juices from lobster in large bowl.Heat olive oil in heavy large pot over high heat. Add lobster shells and bodies and saute until shells begin to brown, ~8 minutes. Add brandy and flame when hot. Add onion and next 8 ingredients. Mix in sherry. Boil until almost all liquid has evaporated, ~4 minutes.
- Add chicken broth, reserved 2C lobster cooking liquid and lobster juices. (If you bought the lobsters already steamed, like we sometimes do, substitute chicken broth or clam juice for the 2C of cooking liquid.) Cook in the pressure cooker for 45 minutes. Release pressure quickly.
- Strain soup through sieve set over large saucepan, pressing firmly on solids. Whisk tomato paste into soup. Simmer until soup is reduced to 4C, ~15 minutes. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate.)
- Add cream to soup and simmer 5 minutes. Dissolve cornstarch in 1T water. Add to soup and boil until slightly thickened, ~2 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste.
- Mix lobster meat into soup and stir to heat through. Ladle soup into bowls. Or, for a more elegant presentation, put some lobster meat in each bowl and bring the bowls to the table. Then pour the hot soup from a beautiful--heat-safe--pitcher at table.
I'm obsessed with our new Instant Pot and have found that a lot of our old recipes are better when made in the pressure cooker settingof the Instant Pot (pressure cookers had always scared me before this.) The pressure cooker extracts more flavor from the lobster shells, making this bisque even richer and more flavorful.
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