One of the best things about summer—and this is a big deal considering I have constantly voiced out how it’s my least favorite season—is that lobsters are wonderfully cheap. My local grocery store has been running a $6/pound promo on these delicious crustaceans for a few weeks now, so I snapped up the chance to get a few of them.
Serves 6 as a main course
You need:
For the lobster stock
Shells of four 1.25- to 1.5-pound lobsters
1 large + 1 small onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 small can tomato paste
6 whole peppercorns
2 celery stalks, chopped into chunks
2 bay leaves
1 bunch sage
1 bunch parsley stalks
For the bisque
Claw, tail, and head meat from the lobsters
1 small onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
6 slices prosciutto
1 small can tomato paste
1 pound 16–20 shrimp, deveined, and shell and tails removed
1 cup of rice
2 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup brandy
1 cup heavy cream
Old Bay
To Make the Stock:
- Heat up two tablespoons of olive oil and two tablespoons of butter in a deep pot.
- Sauté the onions and the garlic until fragrant.
- Add the rest of the ingredients and add enough water to almost cover everything.
- Add 3 tbsp. salt.
- Bring the pot to a boil, then adjust the heat to low. Simmer the stock for at least 30–45 minutes.
- Pass through a strainer to get just the stock. Discard the shells and the vegetables.
To make the Bisque
- Sauté the onions and the garlic in a pot with two tablespoons of olive oil until fragrant.
- Lower the heat to medium. Add the tomato paste and stir often until it breaks.
- Add the Worcestershire sauce and brandy, and stir for about 30 seconds.
- Add about 10 ladlefuls of the stock. Bring to a boil.
- Add the rice, stir, and simmer for about 10 minutes, or until the rice is cooked.
- While the rice is cooking, fry up the prosciutto in a fry pan with a tablespoon of olive oil until crispy. Place in a plate with paper towels to absorb any excess oil.
- Season the shrimp with salt, pepper, and Old Bay.
- Cook them in one layer on the pan that was used for the prosciutto, until pink all throughout. Set aside.
- Season the lobster meat with salt, pepper, and Old Bay, and cook in the same manner as the shrimp.
- Using an immersion blender, blend the bisque until smooth and slightly thickened (the starch from the rice will do that for you).
- Add the cream and bring to a slight simmer.
- Divide the bisque, lobster, shrimp, and prosciutto across six bowls. Garnish with chopped sage or dill. Serve with crusty bread if you want.
Leave a Reply