Lobster Bisque I

Ingredients

Contains: milk, wheat, fish, shellfish (auto-detected from the ingredients and method; we can miss things, so check labels)

• 14 ounces raw lobster tail
• 1/3 cup butter, softened
• 7 green onions, chopped
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 carrot, chopped
• 4 cups fish stock
• 4 sprigs fresh parsley
• 1 bay leaf
• 4 whole black peppercorns
• 2 1/2 cups water
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 3/4 cups tomato puree
• 1 tablespoon sherry
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1 pinch ground nutmeg
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh tarragon

Directions

Method written by CompKitchen from the ingredient list. Not the original author's method, not kitchen-tested.

1. Remove the lobster meat from the raw tail shells, chop it into small pieces, and refrigerate it. Coarsely crush the shells and set them aside.

2. Melt about half the butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add the crushed shells, chopped onion, carrot, and green onions and cook, stirring, for 8 minutes.

3. Stir in the flour and cook for 2 minutes. Slowly whisk in the fish stock, water, and tomato puree until smooth.

4. Add the parsley sprigs, bay leaf, and peppercorns. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, about 5 minutes.

5. Reduce heat to low, partly cover, and simmer gently for 45 minutes, stirring now and then.

6. Strain the soup through a fine sieve into a clean pot, pressing the solids to extract liquid, then discard the solids.

7. Melt the remaining butter in a skillet over medium heat. Cook the chopped lobster for 3 minutes until opaque and it reaches 145°F (63°C), then add the sherry and cook 1 minute.

8. Add the lobster and sherry to the strained soup. Stir in the cream, nutmeg, and tarragon, and heat gently for 5 minutes without boiling. Serve hot.