Lobster Bisque

The seaside classic, the world’s most indulgent soup, the pinnacle of lobster dishes. There are many titles by which Lobster Bisque is known, but once you make it for yourself, you’ll be calling it by a new title: your favorite soup! The creamy, lobster-infused broth is amazing just to sip all on its own, but once you add in garlic-butter sautéed lobster meat… mmm, nothing else compares. Just looking at Lobster Bisque should get your mouth watering. Get ready to find your beach no matter where you are!

Ingredients

For the bisque:

• 5 cups water
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 4 lobster tails
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 2 carrots, peeled and finely chopped
• 2 stalks celery, finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon thyme, freshly chopped
• 1 teaspoon tarragon, freshly chopped, plus more, to taste, for serving
• 1 teaspoon chicken bouillon powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 1/4 cups dry white wine or sherry
• 1 cup heavy cream

For the garlic butter:

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• salt, to taste
• pepper, to taste
• cayenne pepper, to taste

Directions

Step 1 -Fill a large pot with the water and 1 teaspoon of the sea salt.

Step 2 -Bring the water to a boil.

Step 3 -Add the lobster tails and cover the pot with a lid.

Step 4 -Let the tails boil until they are bright red, about 5 minutes.

Step 5 -Remove the lobster tails, reserving the cooking liquid.

Step 6 -When the lobsters have cooled slightly, remove the meat from the shells, reserving the meat and any liquid that comes out of the shells.

Step 7 -Return the lobster shells to the pot of water and bring the mixture to a boil.

Step 8 -Reduce the heat to medium-low and let it simmer until the flavor of the lobsters are drawn as much as possible from the shells, about 15 minutes.

Step 9 -Chop the lobster meat into bite-size pieces and refrigerate.

Step 10 -Heat 2 tablespoons of the butter and 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a large, heavy-bottom pot over medium heat.

Step 11 -Add the onions, the carrots, the celery, the thyme, and 1 teaspoon of the tarragon and cook until soft, about 5 minutes.

Step 12 -Season the veggie mixture with the bouillon powder, the salt, the black pepper, and 1/2 teaspoon of the cayenne pepper.

Step 13 -Stir 4 cloves of the minced garlic into the veggie mixture and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.

Step 14 -Mix the tomato paste into the veggie mixture and cook, stirring to coat the veggies, until fragrant, about 1 minute.

Step 15 -Sprinkle the flour over the veggie mixture and cook, stirring occasionally, until the raw flour smell disappears, about 2 minutes.

Step 16 -Pour the wine into the veggie mixture and allow it to simmer until reduced by half.

Step 17 -Stir 4 cups of the homemade lobster stock into the veggie mixture.

Step 18 -Reduce the heat and gently simmer, stirring occasionally, until the liquid has thickened slightly and the flavors have blended together, about 30 minutes.

Step 19 -Take the soup mixture off the heat and transfer it to a blender.

Step 20 -Blend the soup mixture until smooth.

Step 21 -Return the soup mixture to medium-low heat and stir in the heavy cream.

Step 22 -Melt the remaining butter in a skillet pan over medium heat.

Step 23 -Add the remaining garlic and sauté until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

Step 24 -Add the chopped lobster meat to the garlic mixture and season it with the salt, the pepper, and the remaining cayenne.

Step 25 -Lightly sauté the lobster, stirring occasionally, until just warmed through, about 1 minute.

Step 26 -Mix 3/4 of the lobster meat into the bisque.

Step 27 -Pour the bisque into serving bowls and top each bowl with an even amount of the remaining lobster meat.

Step 28 -Sprinkle on the extra tarragon and serve.