Photography · Soup

Lobster Bisque

Gabriela Lupu

lobster soup

Only in recent years have I come to appreciate the sublime joys of seafood. Being born in the middle of land, far away from sea, it is very difficult to have fresh seafood. After working and traveling around the world and coming in contact with seafood recipes, I discovered another amazing food experience. Lobster is  expensive to order in a restaurant and lacking in the nourishing qualities of more sturdy seafood fare, but  you live only once and consuming lobster once or twice a year is a must if you love it.

Bisque is a French soup very smooth, creamy and highly seasoned , classically based on a strained broth  of crustaceans. Is a method of extracting flavor from imperfect crustaceans not good enough to send to market. In an authentic bisque, the shells are ground to a fine paste and added to thicken the soup.

Julia Child said: “Do not wash anything off until the soup is done because you will be using the same utensils repeatedly and you don’t want any marvelous tidbits of flavor losing themselves down the drain.”lobster

Ingredients:

– 1 tablespoon butter

– 1 tablespoon olive oil

– 6 cloves garlic, smashed

– 2 carrots, chopped

– 2 ribs celery, chopped

– 2 red onions, chopped

– 6 cups vegetable stock

– 1 cup tomato sauce

– 1/2 teaspoon fresh peppercorns

– fresh cracked pepper

– sea salt

– 2 cooked lobster

– 2 bay leaves

– 1 handful parsley

– 1 teaspoon thyme

– 1 teaspoon nutmeg

– 1 cup heavy cream

– 1/2 teaspoon saffron

lobster soup

Directions:

Chopped the cooked lobster carcasses and separate the meat.

Heat a large soup pot on medium and add butter, olive oil, garlic, carrots, celery and onions. Add some freshly cracked pepper, sea salt and saute for about 10 minutes. Add the vegetable stock, tomato sauce, peppercorns, lobster carcasses, bay leaves, parsley, nutmeg and thyme. Top of with water, just enough to cover the shells. Turn the heat down to medium-low and simmer, partially covered for 1 hour.

Using strainer and cheesecloth, strain the lobster broth into a medium pot. Add heavy cream and saffron and mix. Let reduce on medium-low heat another 15 – 20 minutes. Add the meat when is done. Decorate the plates with the carcasses for a huge impact.

You can use shrimps to serve the soup with, if you think you don’t have enough lobster meat. Enjoy!lobster soup

 

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Published by Gabriela Lupu

Hi. My name is Gabi and I am a professional photographer, a new mom and a wife. I wanna learn to cook healthy food for my little one, so I made this blog to share my cooking experiments with everyone. It's gone be a long and a bumpy ride but a funny one, so stay tune for news and enjoy my ride.

140 thoughts on “Lobster Bisque”

  5. Lovely quote from Julia. I really liked your description of bisque and very interesting the authentic way is to grind the shells into a fine paste to thicken the soup. I imagine there may be great nourishment in the shells we otherwise are missing out on. Photographs are beautiful!

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  6. You’re killing me… My son is a photojournalist as well owns a commercial photography business. He explained the true measure of “successful” food photography is “The person looking at your work wants to eat what’s in the shot.” I want lobster bisque and I want it now… Thank you for sharing…

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  8. oh my goodness this looks amazing!!! i loooooove me some seafood and i looooove me some julia child! being from maryland, i also love me some crab soup! i can’t wait to have a big ol’ bowl! xo

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  10. This looks heavenly! I love lobster bisque but have never made it. I can’t wait to try your recipe!!

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  16. I absolutely love lobster and think the once a year indulgence is totally worth it. I love how your beautiful photos evoke the more rustic and approachable side to seafood. Nicely done!

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  18. Reblogged this on Paleo with cream and commented:
    My first taste of Lobster Bisque was at Quincy’s Market in Boston. A little seafood chowder stall that served it up in a sourdough bread bowl. What was notables about this experience was that it was my first visit to Boston, all the way from Auckland New Zealand.
    From the first mouthful I fell in love with the creamy, slightly spicy taste. So big thanks to Cooling without Limits!

    Reply

  22. This is going on my to-make list! I’ve had some excellent lobster bisque when visiting Maine, but have never attempted making it (although I do make seafood and shellfish stock). Your recipe looks yummers!

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  26. Thanks for stopping by WordBowlbyMsCharlieS.com and thanks for introducing me to your delectable photography and delicious writing. I am inspired to get into the kitchen to whip up Sunday Supper!

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  35. Always have loved seafood! So many people I know won’t eat it (je suis confus). Unfortunately, I’ve lived in Utah most of my life (far from the sea) but there’s lots of good river/lake fish like trout, perch and kokanee. Nothing beats fresh lobster though – as I learned on my vacation in San Francisco. Love this classic ode to French cooking and the photography is gorgeous, cheers!

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  41. Honestly, three minutes to die in such a horrible way, is one meal really worth doing that to another sentient being? Those poor creatures, they could have live to be as old as us humans hope for. I would want no part of it.

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  43. Looks so delicious…I want to make this! Also, I love the photo of the lobster heads/parts for some reason. It made me lol. 🙂

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  47. Thanks for stopping by and checking out my cacio e pepe!

    This looks amazing! I’ll be cooking my first live lobster soon and if it doesn’t go all Julie & Julia on me, I’ll definitely be trying this recipe. Lobster bisque is one of my faves. 🙂

    Reply