Curried Lobster Bisque
I have to admit, when I found out that this week’s Item-of-the-Week at Whole Foods were lobster tails my initial thought was, “WHAT! I can’t put these beauties into a recipe, they must be eaten whole and in all of it’s glory!” But alas, I can’t just say, “Boil ’em up my friends!”. And now I am so glad I didn’t because this soup is amazing. Like guys, serve it up to your ladies when you’re trying to make a great impression or for a few months later when you’re in the dog house.
Like I said, I wanted to come up with a recipe that would really do these lobsters justice. Since it’s soup season and I’m on a major soup bender I wanted to do a lobster bisque. But just a plain bisque? Eh. I could do better than that and wanted to push the flavors a bit more. I had just made a sweet potato curry last week so in one grand moment of clarity, it all came together.
This soup is so easy and I’m really hoping I didn’t make the steps sound too complicated because it really isn’t. Basically, boil lobster. Keep water you boiled it in to create a stock / base for the soup. Sauté up some yummies. Add to pot. Immersion blend. Add some more flavors. Simmer. Add lobster. Done. That’s really pretty much all there is to it.
The real flavor for this one comes from the garlic, ginger, and jalapeño paste you cook up then add into the broth. If you have a high powered blender or food processor it will make life a bit easier but it’s really not necessary.
And if you’re in a pinch, you can also sub the lobster out with shrimp or crab and you’d still have a mighty fine soup on deck. And to make it Whole30 compliant, just omit the white wine and honey. Easy peasy. It will taste slightly different but I promise it will still be delicious.
Here’s a little secret… I was initially planning to give some to the kids for dinner (they usually eat whatever we do) but tonight I gave them leftovers because I knew they’d would never appreciate this bisque the way it’s supposed to! And besides, I wanted more for me and my husband. 😉 But alas, once Tegan saw mine she asked for some of her own so I gave her a bit. And when she got to the lobster she spit it out and said, “Yucky!”. Ugh! So predictable. SMH.
Please, oh please, make this and tell me how much you adore it.
curry lobster bisque
Ingredients
- 1 lb. fresh lobster
- 1 C. white wine
- 1 Tbsp. ghee or butter
- 1/2 onion chopped
- 5 or 6 cloves of garlic
- 1/2 jalepeno deseeded
- 1.5 inch pice of ginger
- 4 C. chicken stock
- 2 oz. red curry paste
- 1 C. crushed tomatoes
- 1.5 C. coconut cream
- 1/2 Tbsp. honey
- 1/2 lime juice
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- In a large stock pot, bring 3 C. of water and 1 C. of white wine to a boil
- Cut open the underbelly portion of lobster and place lobster into boiling liquid
- Cook for about 10 minutes give or take, depending on size of individual lobsters.
- Meanwhile, add 1 Tbsp of ghee to hot pan and add onions, cook until translucent
- Once lobster is done, fish out of pot and let cool
- Once cooled, break shells open, remove flesh and set aside (I recommend doing this over the pot to catch any excess liquid as you are using it to create a stock/broth)
- When onions are done add them into the stock pot and simmer
- Peel ginger
- Add garlic, ginger and jalapeño to small food processor or blender and pulse till minced, you should have a paste like substance. (If you don't have either appliance a fine mince will suffice)
- Add a small amount of ghee or butter back into the saucepan you used to cook the onions
- Add garlic, ginger, jalapeno paste and cook on medium until lightly browned and aromatic
- Once cooked, add paste into stock pot with broth and onions
- Add chicken stock and bring to a boil
- Using an immersion blender, blend stock until consistency is smooth and bring boil to a simmer
- Add coconut cream and red curry paste and immersion blend lightly to combine coconut cream, curry paste and broth
- Add crushed tomatoes, honey and juice of half of lime
- Roughly chop cooled lobster meat and add to pot
- Simmer for 10-15 minutes
- Salt and pepper to taste
