Ingredients
4 tbsp. butter
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 carrots, peeled and finely chopped
2 stalks celery, finely chopped
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp. tomato paste
2 tbsp. all-purpose flour
4 c. seafood or fish stock
1 1/4 c. dry white wine
1 bay leaf
3 sprigs fresh thyme
1/2 c. heavy cream
1 lb. cooked lobster meat, chopped
Finely chopped chives, for serving
Preparation
Step 1In a large, heavy pot over medium heat, heat butter. Add onion, carrots, and celery and cook until soft, about 7 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, then stir in garlic and tomato paste. Cook until garlic is fragrant and tomato paste coats vegetables, about 2 minutes. Sprinkle over flour and cook, 1 minute more.Step 2Pour in seafood stock and wine, then stir in bay leaf and thyme. Reduce heat and let simmer until liquid is reduced and flavors meld, stirring occasionally, 30 minutes.Step 3Remove bay leaf and thyme and purée with an immersion blender until very smooth. Return to medium-low heat and stir in heavy cream and lobster meat, cooking just until warm, about 5 minutes.Step 4Garnish with chives before serving.
The result is a velvety smooth bisque with big chunks of lobster in every bite. It’s decadent and so satisfying, and it comes together in just 1 hour! Here’s how to nail it. Build your flavors This soup tastes super complex, but actually starts with pretty basic staple ingredients. The key here is building flavors. Start by melting butter (salt or not, your choice!), then add your mirepoix—a humble but fragrant mixture of finely chopped onion, carrot, and celery. Next, stir in fragrant tomato paste and freshly minced garlic and let ’em cook briefly until just lightly caramelized for a deeply satisfying addition of sweet and savory flavors. Quality white wine and fresh seafood stock give the bisque a baseline of umami and a hint of sophistication, and thyme and bay leaf get perfectly infused into the slow simmering mix. Texture is key The two main players here are flour and cream. When we sprinkle the flour into the veggie mixture, we’re basically creating a textured roux. Sprinkle in the flour evenly to avoid clumps, and give it a few healthy, vigorous stirs to eliminate any dry pockets. Cook it for a minute so that the flour absorbs some of the flavors already partying in the pot, then go ahead and slowly pour in your stock and wine a 1/4 cup at time while continuing to stir. We’re only using 2 tablespoons flour here but a little goes a long way to create that thickened (but not gluey!) mouthfeel. Heavy cream is our final shining star ingredient: to make a proper bisque, do not opt for lower-fat substitutes! Cream is essential in lending the bisque that classic richness. Stock up Speaking of stock, let’s get into it. Here, we use seafood stock to really amp up the lobster flavor, but you could totally use vegetable or even chicken stock. Just be sure to choose one that’s low-sodium, as always, so you can control the salt level. Grab the booze This recipe has got 1 1/4 cups of dry white wine. However, if you happen to have some on hand, replace 1/4 cup of the wine with sherry. Sherry is a fortified wine that adds an absolutely delicious, savory kick to your soup. The flavor is similar to marsala. Finishing touches Once your soup has simmered and the flavors have melded, pick out and discard the spent herbs, and puree it. Bust out your immersion blender or pour into a blender. You want the soup to be completely smooth. Then, pour it back into your pot and stir in the heavy cream and lobster. You basically just want to warm those things through, so bring to a simmer and then serve immediately garnished with fresh chives. Lobster bisque options Obsessed with bisque but don’t have lobster on hand? Although you’ll be missing out on that characteristic lobster texture, you can totally substitute in shrimp or even a tender white fish like tilapia or cod. If you love seafood flavors in creamy soups, we highly recommend you give this crab bisque a try! If you’ve made this recipe, we’d love to hear from you—leave us a comment and rating down below!
