Exotic Mushroom & Maine Lobster Soup

INGREDIENTS:

With Pleurotte & Roman Mushrooms, French Brandy,

Cream, Roasted Onions & Tomato Concassé

4 each 1 ½1b. live Maine lobsters

10 sprigs parsley, fresh

5 sprigs thyme, fresh

2 each bay leaves

3 cups French brandy

2 each carrots, peel & rough chop

2 each celery stalks, rough chop

2 each leeks, thoroughly wash & rough chop

6 cups cold water

3 large Spanish onions, skin removed & quartered

1 Tablespoon vegetable oil

1 large tomato

4 ounces butter

1½ cups pleurotte aka oyster mushrooms, whole, discard stem

1½ cups Roman mushrooms aka Cremini, wash & cut in half

¼ cup garlic, minced

¼ cup all purpose flour

1 cup heavy cream

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground white pepper

1 Tablespoon fresh thyme, fine chop

1 Tablespoon fresh parsley, fine chop

DIRECTIONS:

Steam the Maine lobsters for 5 minutes.  Shock them in ice water until they have cooled.  Remove the meat from the Maine lobsters and rinse clean.  Save the shells and bodies, rinse them as well.  Cut the meat into bite size pieces and refrigerate.

Prepare a Bouquet Garni by wrapping the parsley sprigs, thyme, and bay leaf in cheesecloth and tie with butchers string.

Place Maine lobster bodies in a roasting pan.  Bake at 400 degrees until very aromatic.  Remove from oven, place shells in a stockpot.  Over high heat on a stovetop deglaze the pan that the shells were roasted in with the brandy, flame to remove alcohol and scrape the bottom to remove any particles.  Place liquid and any particle in the stockpot with the Maine lobster shells.  Place carrot, celery, leek, water and bouquet into the stockpot, bring to a simmer and let it reduce to 3 cups of liquid.  Strain liquid through a fine mesh strainer and discard solids.  Set liquid aside.

Gently rub the onion quarters with the vegetable oil and place a cut side down on a baking sheet.  Bake at 350 degrees until the onion is golden brown and softened.  Remove from oven, discard outside segment of each onion if it is too crisp.  Set aside.

With a knife cut a small "x" just through the skin in the bottom of the tomatoes.  Place tomato in boiling water just until the area that was cut lifts away from the tomato (takes less than a minute).  Remove from boiling water and place in ice water until cool.  Peel the skin from the tomato, cut into quarters, remove and discard seeds.  Small dice the flesh of the tomato and set aside.

Place butter in a heavy bottom saucepan over high heat and cook until it starts to brown.  Add mushrooms and garlic, sauté until golden brown.  Reduce heat to medium and stir in flour until completely incorporated.  Add brandied Maine lobster broth and stir, bringing to a boil.  Add cream and bring to a boil.  Season with salt and pepper.  Add Maine lobster and chopped herbs, simmer for 1 minute.

In 4” wide shallow soup bowls place three pieces of roasted onion equally spaced and pointing out from the center.  Pour equal portions of soup over onion in each bowl and top each with equal portions of tomato concassé and chopped parsley.

NUTRITIONAL:

Nutritional facts per serving:

calories            1,154.3

carbohydrate         39.0  g

cholesterol             252  mg

total fat                 50.7  g

protein                  37.9  g

sodium                1,423  mg

dietary fiber            6.5  g

calcium                  365  mg

Nutritional information provided by MasterCook.  These profiles are meant to be approximate guides to nutrient contents of the recipe.  Those persons on special diets may require more specific nutrient data and should consult their personal physicians, registered dietitians, and/or food manufacturers.

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