Mango and Maine Lobster Bisque

INGREDIENTS:

1½ cups celery, diced

1½ cups carrots, diced

3 cups onions, diced

4 ounces olive oil

2 Tablespoons garlic, diced

2 Tablespoons shallots, diced

4 ounces butter

4 ounces flour

1 cup tomato paste

6 ounces rum

2 whole star anise

1 leek, white part only

2 quarts Maine lobster stock

12 ounces coconut milk

2 mangoes, 1 diced/1 pureed

2 Tablespoons sirachi

2 ounces chive kim chee

16 wanton wrappers

3 Maine lobsters, cooked & diced

24 sugar cane skewers

2 Tablespoons tamarind lacquer

8 pinches coconut, toasted

DIRECTIONS:

Sweat celery, carrots and onions in olive oil till tender, add garlic and shallots.  Add butter and flour, cook for 5 minutes.  Add tomato paste, cook stirring constantly for 3 minutes.  Add rum, star anise, and leek, reduce by half, add stock and coconut milk.  Simmer for 40 minutes.  Add mango puree and sirachi, cook for 10 more minutes.  Strain through a fine mesh strainer, keep hot till service time.

Chive Kim Chee Wantons:

Put about 1/8 ounce kim chee in the center of a 4 inch wanton wrapper.  Pull the corners up and seal with cornstarch and water.  Fry in saute pan till crispy.  Place 2 wantons in each soup bowl.

Steam Maine lobster till done.  Pick out meat, dice tail and claws into chunks and skewer them with sugar cane.  Brush skewers with tamarine lacquered and heat on grill a few minutes before service.  Dice remaining Maine lobster and retain.

To serve, heat bisque and place in bowl.  Add the rest of the Maine lobster meat, diced 3 Maine lobster sates.  Sprinkle with coconut.

NUTRITIONAL:

Per serving:

calories                  648

carbohydrate            39  g

cholesterol             138  mg

total fat                    37  g

protein                     27  g

sodium                     51  mg