Ingredients

  • 900 grams live lobster, 2-1 lb
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 onion, sliced
  • 1 large celery stalk, sliced
  • 1 small carrot, sliced
  • 1 head garlic, cut in half crosswise
  • 1 tomato, sliced
  • 2 tablespoons fresh tarragon
  • 2 tablespoons fresh thyme
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 8 black pepper corns
  • ½ cup brandy
  • ½ cup sherry
  • 4 cups fish stock, or bottled clam juice
  • ¼ cup tomato paste
  • ½ cup whipping cream
  • 2 teaspoons cornstarch
  • 1 tablespoon water

Directions

1. Bring large pot of water to boil. Add lobsters head first and boil until cooked through, about 8 minutes. Using tongs, transfer lobsters to large bowl. Reserve 2 cups cooking liquid. Cool lobsters.
2. Working over large bowl to catch juices, cut off lobster tails and claws. Crack tail and claw shells and remove lobster meat. coarsely chop lobster meat, cover and chill. Coarsely chop lobster shells and bodies, transfer to medium bowl. Reserve juices from lobster in large bowl.
3. Heat olive oil in heavy large pot over high heat. Add lobster shells and onions and sauté until shells/onions begin to brown, about 8 minutes. Add celery stock through pepper corns and sauté until softened. Mix in brandy and Sherry. Boil until almost all liquid has evaporated, about 4 minutes. Add fish stock, reserved 2 cups lobster cooking liquid and lobster juices. Simmer 1 hour.
4. Strain soup through sieve set over large saucepan, pressing firmly on solids. Whisk tomato paste into soup.
5. Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate.
6. Add cream to soup and bring to simmer. Dissolve cornstarch in 1 tablespoon water. Add to soup and boil until slightly thickened, about 2 minutes. May have to double cornstarch since I deleted a reduction due to too salty a soup. Mix lobster meat into soup and stir to heat through. Ladle soup into bowls.
7. Can ladle into crocks and add puff pastry on top.

Notes
Recipe calls for reducing to 1 cup after straining. I reduced to 2 cups from about 3 and soup became way too salty. It was sweet and good before the reduction. Soup smells great while cooking.


Keywords
soup, fish
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