Lobster and Corn Soup
Serves 4
ingredients:
- 2 small (4 oz) cold water lobster tails, uncooked
- 2 ½ cup water
- 2 tsp Better than Bouillon lobster base
- 4 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 sweet onion, diced
- 2 ribs celery, diced
- ¼ tsp paprika
- 1/8 tsp black pepper, ground
- pinch cayenne pepper
- ¼ tsp dried thyme, rubbed
- 1 ½ tbsp flour
- 8 oz frozen corn, thawed
- ½ cup heavy cream
- salt and black pepper to taste
- chopped chives for garnish (optional)
- Preheat oven to 425 °F.
- Split the lobster tails in half and lay meat side up in a shallow baking dish. Add ½ c of the water.
- Bake at 425 °F for 6 to 8 minutes, until the meat is no longer translucent and firm to the touch (1 to 2 minutes per oz).
- Cool for a few minutes then remove the meat from the shells; avoid the temptation to eat it and refrigerate for later.
- Pour the liquid and shells and remaining water into a small sauce pan and bring to a simmer. Cover and simmer for at least 1 hour.
- Strain into a glass bowl and discard the shells. Whisk the lobster base into the stock.
At this point the lobster stock can be covered and refrigerated for later use. Or:
- Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat.
- Add the onion, celery, paprika, black pepper, cayenne, and dried thyme and sautee until the vegetables have softened (5 minutes). Stir-in the flour and continue stirring for 3 minutes while the roux develops.
- Stir-in the lobster stock and continue stirring until it comes to a boil. Add the corn then reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer for at least 1 hour.
- Stir-in the heavy cream. Season with additional salt and pepper to taste. Continue to simmer on low for 15 minutes.
For service I diced the lobster half tails into small pieces and made a mound in the center of each bowl, pouring the soup around it. You could also drop the half tails in in their entirety. Either way, the soup will warm the already-cooked tail meat by the time the bowl arrives on the table. Garnish with chopped chives (or other herbs, maybe tarragon).