For some reason,
the Hawthornes had lobster in their freezer.
I think we'd found lobsters on sale
and had bought a bunch.
We ate what we could
and froze the last three.
Wrap in plastic, then wrap in newspaper,
secure it with brown tape,
wet the newspaper, and freeze.
I'm ready for lobster bisque.
Mr. Hawthorne picked the lobsters.
I found a quart of shrimp stock in my freezer.
For directions on how to make shrimp stock,
click on the above link.
For directions on how to make shrimp stock,
click on the above link.
Let the shrimp stock thaw in a pan of hot water.
I'm going to sauté a large shallot,
some celery, some anemic scallions, serrano pepper,
and two mushrooms (All that I had.) in butter and oil,
then add flour to make a roux.
Then I'll add in about 2 cups of the stock
and 1 cup of heavy cream and let thicken,
stirring occasionally.
A splash of sherry at the end.
Then drop in the chopped asparagus
and lobster and let heat through.
Orange zest on top,
along with some fresh tarragon.
I finely chopped the scallion, shallot, and serrano.
Slice the mushrooms,
Coarse chop the asparagus,
and mince the tarragon.
I heated a tablespoon each of oil and butter
until the butter started to foam.
Then add in the shallots.
Add in the celery, scallion, and serrano.
Add in the shrooms.
Cook about a minute.
Add 1/4 cup of flour and cook about two minutes
to cook the raw out of the flour.
Stir constantly.
Next, slowly pour in 2 cups of shrimp stock.
Keep stirring.
You want smooth - no lumps.
Cook over low, whisking.
Add in heavy cream.
I added about 1/4 cup of sherry.
Freshly ground salt and pepper to taste.
Taste test.
You want the bisque to coat a wooden spoon.
I love this texture - very smooth and velvety.
Continue to heat over low heat,
stirring occasionally, until desired consistency is reached.
I taste-tested again
and gave it a few more grinds of salt and pepper.
Add in the asparagus.
This asparagus was just picked from the garden.
It doesn't need cooking - it's that tender.
Just add it to the pot and heat through.
Give the lobster a coarse chop.
That's the texture I want.
If you wanted.
you could stop right here.
This tastes so good now.
The shrimp flavor is perfect.
If you didn't have lobster,
you could add in shrimp or scallops or even cod now.
I would sauté them first,
since I don't want to put raw seafood in the bisque.
I'd have to turn up the heat to cook them
and that would change this perfect consistency.
Add in the lobster chunks and heat through.
And serve.
Top with orange zest, fresh tarragon, and infused paprika oil.
For the oil,
I roasted hot Hungarian paprika in a dry pan,
then add some oil and heat through.
Pour into plastic mini-squeeze bottles.
Keeps in the fridge for a long time.
This is one of those dishes
with so many flavors and textures
that I want a bite of everything in one spoonful.
Hawthorne Haiku:
Creamy silkiness.
Zest of orange. Tarragon.
Lobster, 'sparagus.
Bon appétit.
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