Fish No. 5
If you couldn’t tell from our first four dishes, we’re enjoying bending the rules of the traditional Feast of Seven Fishes a bit—crustaceans are just so rife with flavor and texture that we couldn’t leave them out. In fact, they’ve become one of the cornerstones of our spread. Our fifth dish is where things get truly decadent: enter our lobster chowder, complete with garlic parsley butter and black lava salt.
INGREDIENTS:
2 lb lobster bodies
1 lb lobster meat
1 ea. carrot, rough chop
2 ea. celery stalk, rough chop
4 ea. shallot, rough chop
1/4 cup tomato paste
1 lb butter
1.25 lb flour
2 tbsp smoked paprika
2 tsp white pepper
1 tbsp dried tarragon
2 qt water
1/4 cup brandy
1/4 cup sherry
1 pint heavy cream
1 tbsp fresh tarragon, chopped
2 tsp Tabasco
2 tbsp lemon juice
Salt and pepper to taste
METHOD:
Place the lobster bodies, carrot, celery and shallot on a foil-lined baking sheet in the oven on broil for 8-10 minutes, or until they start to heavily caramelize.
In a medium-sized soup pot, slowly sautée the tomato paste, paprika, dried tarragon and white pepper in the butter for 5-6 minutes. Add in the flour, and continue cooking for an additional 6-8 minutes, stirring frequently.
Add in the water, sherry, brandy, roasted lobster bodies, and vegetables. Bring to a simmer for 15-20 minutes and reduce by approximately a third.
Place the mixture in a blender in batches, and pulse for 15-20 seconds, or until the lobster bodies and vegetables have broken down into small pieces. Strain mixture through a fine-mesh china cap into another small pot.
Add in the cream and Tabasco and continue to simmer for another 10 minutes. Finish with lemon juice and season with salt and pepper to taste.
We’ll be sharing a dish from our feast with The Plaid Penguin and Clean Catch Fish Market daily until Christmas Eve. Check in tomorrow! And for more delicious fishy recipes, visit cleancatchfish.com.
See the rest of the feast
