Sweet Corn and Lobster Bisque
Ingredients:
| 4 | 1½-pound live lobsters |
| 6 | Ears of corn, kernels removed & reserved / cobs cut into 1-inch pieces |
| 1 cup | Peeled and finely diced onions |
| 2 cups | White wine |
| 1 cup | Peeled and finely diced carrots |
| 2 cups | Heavy cream |
| 2 sprigs | Fresh thyme chopped |
| 1 ½ cups | Diced new potatoes |
| 1 cup | Leek rounds (white and light parts only), finely diced |
| 1/8 tsp. | Freshly ground black pepper |
| 1 cup | Finely diced celery |
| 1 tsp. | Kosher salt |
| ¼ tsp. | Black peppercorns |
| ¼ cup | Olive oil |
| ¼ tsp. | Cumin seeds |
| 2 cups | Water |
| 2 tsp. | Seeded and minced jalapeno |
| 1 | Red pepper seeded, roasted, and diced |
| ½ tsp. | Cayenne |
| ¼ tsp. | Coriander seeds |
| 4 oz. | Sweet sugar-cured bacon or pancetta, cut into ½-inch dice (approx. 1 cup) |
| 2 tbsp. | Chopped parsley or cilantro |
- Place a lobster belly-side down on a cutting board and hold it firmly at its midsection. Place the point of a large kitchen knife about midway down the head, with the sharp edge facing toward the head. With one strong motion, pierce downward and slice forward with the knife, splitting the top portion of the lobster’s head and killing it instantly. Set aside and repeat with remaining lobsters.
- Separate the tails from the bodies and remove the claws. Cut each tail into 4 even pieces. Split the heads and remove the light green liver (tomalley) and the dark green roe (from the female lobster). Set aside the tails, claws, and heads.
- Using a rubber spatula, pass the tomalley and roe through a strainer into a small bowl. Cover the bowl and refrigerate.
- Heat olive oil over moderate heat in a Dutch oven or soup pot. Ad the pancetta or bacon and cook, stirring occasionally, until brown. Add leeks and cook until wilted, about 2 minutes. Remove leeks and pancetta and reserve.
- Raise the heat to high and add lobster tail pieces, claws, and heads. Cook, stirring frequently, for 5 to 7 minutes, until bright red. Remove lobsters from pot and set aside to cool.
- Add onions, celery, carrots, thyme, cumin, coriander, cayenne, and black peppercorns to the pot. Lower the heat to medium and cook 10 minutes, until the vegetables are soft but not brown. Remove pot from heat.
- Crack open lobster tails and claws and remove the meat. Return shells and heads to the pot. Cut meat and claws into bite-size pieces and reserve, covered.
- Pour white wine into the pot and cook over medium heat until reduced by half. Add cream, corncob pieces, and 2 cups water. Lower the heat and let simmer, covered, for 5 minutes. Strain in a colander, pressing the solids to extract the maximum amount of liquid. Season with salt and pepper. This liquid is the chowder base.
- Return chowder base to the pot and add potatoes, red pepper, jalapeno, corn kernels, and reserved leeks and pancetta. Simmer gently until the potatoes are cooked, 7 to 10 minutes. Add reserved lobster meat to the chowder.
- Ladle a small amount of hot chowder into the bowl with the tomalley-roe mixture to warm slightly. Slowly stir the warmed roe mixture back into the chowder.
- Heat over low heat, stirring, until the roe turns the chowder light pink. Do not boil or the roe will separate. Ladle into warm bowls, sprinkle with chopped parsley or cilantro, and serve.