Lobster Bisque

How to Make Lobster Bisque

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1. Heat the oven to 220°C / 425°F. Break the shells up roughly, spread them on a tray and roast 20 minutes until deep red and fragrant.

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2. While the shells roast, melt the butter with the oil in a large pot and cook the onion, carrot, celery and fennel over medium heat for 12 minutes until soft and golden.

   Mark done Start 12 min timer

3. Add the garlic for 1 minute, then the tomato purée, and cook 3 minutes until it darkens to brick red.

   Mark done Start 1 min timer

4. Add the roasted shells and stir to coat.

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5. Pour in the brandy, stand back, and let it bubble hard for 2 minutes until the raw alcohol smell has gone.

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6. Add the wine and reduce by half, then the stock, bay, tarragon, peppercorns and rice.

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7. Simmer, uncovered, for 45 minutes — the liquid should reduce by about a third and the rice should be completely collapsed.

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8. Fish out the largest shell pieces and the bay leaves, then blend the rest in batches until as smooth as your blender will manage.

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9. Pass through a fine sieve, pressing hard on the solids with a ladle, and discard what will not go through. Do this twice for a truly silky bisque.

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10. Return to a clean pan, stir in the cream, salt, cayenne and lemon juice, and warm through without boiling. Serve with the lobster meat warmed in a little butter and divided between the bowls.

    Mark done

Related guide: Choosing rice.

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Worth Getting Right

• The rice is the thickener. It disappears completely and leaves body without flour.
• Sieve twice. The first pass takes out the shell, the second takes out the grit you can feel but not see.
• Never boil after the cream. It splits and there is no way back.

Common Substitutions & Variations

• In a sauce, full-fat crème fraîche can usually take the place of the double cream; single cream is thinner and more likely to split if it boils, so keep it below a simmer.
• An eighth of a teaspoon of garlic powder per clove is the stand-in usually given when you are out of fresh garlic; it will not brown the same way, and it burns easily, so add it with the liquid.
• A dry vermouth keeps for longer than an open bottle of white wine and is the closer swap than a random white left in the fridge; for an alcohol-free version, use the same amount of stock with a squeeze of lemon.

What to Serve With It

A glass of white Burgundy · Crusty bread and salted butter · A dry sherry as an aperitif

Sides from the same cuisine on this site: French Baguette, Fougasse, Pain aux Noix.

Leftovers and Storage

The bisque base, before the cream, keeps 3 days refrigerated and freezes for 3 months. Add the cream on reheating.

What's in a Serving

Per serving, an approximate calculation from the ingredient list. Treat it as a rough guide: all the alcohol is counted, though some is lost in cooking. The calories include 13 g of alcohol a serving, which is not part of the protein, carbohydrate or fat. How the figures are worked out.

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