Lobster Bouillabaisse
This lobster Bouillabaisse came to be because I have been saving lobster tail shells in the freezer since Christmas when my family bought them in bulk at Costco. We’ve been saving up the shells for one very special lobster soup. The soup was TBD until my partner and I decided to celebrate each other, celebrate life, celebrate our love - this February 14th 2023 with of course more lobster. Making another bulk purchase of lobster tails from our beloved Costco, this time to feed two. We reveled in eating them over the weekend; always butter poached, first over herb rice, then accompanying avocado toast with chili crisp, and then picked and tossed in fried rice. Finally that brings me to the soup. The lobster soup! Ultimately turning our frozen lobster tail shells into liquid soup gold, in the form of Bouillabaisse.
Bouillabaisse Ingredients
2 tbsp olive oil
1 medium fennel bulb, thinly sliced
4 stalks celery, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons tomato paste
¼ cup white wine
14.5 oz can whole peeled tomatoes
2 quarts lobster stock or store bought fish stock
4-5 small russet potatoes, peeled and sliced into 1/2 inch rounds, confited per recipe below
1 3 inch piece Orange peel
½ tsp crumbled saffron threads
3 lobster tails, poached in liquid and pulled from shell
2 tsp tarragon, chopped
2 tsp parsley, chopped
Instructions
Heat a large dutch oven over medium high and heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Sauté the sliced fennel, celery and garlic until softened and translucent, 5-7 minutes.
Stir in two tablespoons of tomato paste, coating all of the sautéed veg and let the tomato paste darken slightly, 1-2 minutes.
Deglaze the vegetables and tomato paste with white wine until cooked off, about 2 minutes.
Add the can of tomatoes, 2 quarts of lobster stock, orange peel, and saffron. If you are skipping the potato confit step, add them now as well and simmer with the soup until tender. Bring to a gentle boil, then simmer for 3-4 hours.
Gently poach the lobster tails by placing them in the simmering broth for 5 minutes, turning every so often.
Once slightly cooled pull the lobster meat from the shell. Ladle soup into bowls, top with lobster tails, warmed confit potatoes, and herbs.
Lobster Stock
Yield: 3 quarts
1 pound lobster shells, from about 18 lobster tails (Sub 2 whole lobster shells, meat picked)
1 medium fennel, stems and fronds, bulb set aside for Bouillabase
4 stalks celery
1 Bay leaf
1 sprig tarragon
½ a bunch of parsley stems
1 3 inch piece orange peel
2 tsp salt
In a large stock pot fully submerge all ingredients under cold water by two inches. Bring to a boil, then immediately simmer on low for 3-4 hours. Drain contents over a fine mesh sieve and reserve liquid, discard shells and aromatics.
Confit Potatoes
Confit is when an ingredient is completely submerged in fat and cooked at a very low temperature. I love to confit basically anything but potatoes are an item you don't see cooked in this style as often. I absolutely love it because the potatoes become so tender, they essentially melt while still holding their shape and take on SO much flavor from the aromatics. They have a richer, fattier mouth feel than boiling potatoes. They are great to have around to throw in salads, eggs, and pastas. Save and reserve the confit oil to continue confiting just about anything! more on that another day.
They can be put back into the oven or seared in a pan to reheat. For this lobster bouillabaisse recipe I will simply place the softened, warmed, fatty potatoes in the bowl with my bouillabaisse.
If this method feels to0 overly complicated, boiling the potatoes in the bouillabaisse for this recipe is certainly an option and a simpler one at that. If that feels more doable by all means do it. I prefer confiting the potatoes in this recipe for an added element of richness.
Ingredients
4-5 small russet potatoes, peeled and sliced in ½ inch rounds
1 cup neutral oil, sunflower oil
1 cup extra virgin olive oil
4 cloves garlic, crushed in their skin
1 sprig tarragon
1 sprig rosemary
1 bay leaf
1 2 inch piece lemon peel
2 tsp salt
Instructions
Preheat oven to 250. In a small, shallow baking dish, combine sliced potatoes, oil and aromatics. Ensure the potatoes are fully submerged in the oil. Cover the baking dish with foil and bake for 2-3 hours until very tender and easily slide away when pierced with a skewer or knife.