Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Volume 2 (18 page)

7)
The lobster garnish

2 Tb of the lobster butter from Step 6

A small frying pan

The remaining lobster meat from Step 3

Salt and pepper

2 Tb Cognac or dry white vermouth

Heat the butter to bubbling in the frying pan; stir in the lobster meat, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Sauté over moderate heat for 2 minutes, tossing and turning. Pour on the Cognac or vermouth, and cook for a moment until liquid has evaporated. Scrape the lobster into the saucepan containing the rest of the soup mixture from Step 6, and you are finally almost ready to serve.

(*)
AHEAD-OF-TIME NOTE
: Recipe may be completed to this point; let cool uncovered, then cover and refrigerate or freeze.

8)
Final flavoring and serving

If needed: more fish stock, clam juice, or bouillon

Salt, pepper, cayenne, and tarragon

½ to 1 cup heavy cream

The lobster butter from Step 6

2 to 3 Tb minced fresh chervil, tarragon, or parsley

Croûtons
(diced bread sautéed in butter); or
Melba toast
; or your own
French bread

Shortly before serving, bring the bisque to the simmer. It should be quite thick, but if it needs thinning, stir in a little stock or bouillon. Carefully correct seasoning. Just before serving, stir in the cream, then remove from heat and stir in the lobster butter by tablespoonsful. Pour the bisque into a hot tureen or soup cups, and decorate with the fresh herbs. Pass the croûtons, Melba toast, or bread separately.

VARIATIONS

Because all of the other shellfish
bisques follow almost the same pattern as lobster bisque, you can really substitute shrimp, crab, or crayfish for lobster in the Master Recipe every time you see the word “lobster.” To account for the very slight differences in method, here is a paragraph of special instructions for each.

Bisque de Crevettes

[Shrimp Bisque]

You must have shrimp in the shell for this recipe because the shells give the bisque its characteristic color and flavor. It is of prime importance, therefore, that you use only the freshest smelling and finest quality of shrimp, whether they are live and whole or frozen, raw, and headless. If the shrimp are whole, meaning with head and shell, simply wash and drain before sautéing them; if frozen, thaw in cold water until you can separate them, then sauté. Since they need only 5 minutes of simmering, cook the tomatoes and other ingredients called for in Step 3 for 10 minutes before adding the shrimp; after their simmer, let them cool 10 minutes in the cooking sauce before draining and peeling them. Use the shells and several whole, cooked shrimp for the shellfish butter in Step 6, and if the shrimp are very large, slice in half lengthwise those you are reserving for the garnish in Step 7. You will need 1¼ to 1½ pounds of raw shrimp for 2 quarts of bisque.

Bisque de Crabes

[Crab Bisque]

Crab bisque is even more one of love’s labors than lobster bisque, but it is so marvelously rich and deeply flavored that if you pick the right guests your reward will be in watching their pleasure, as well as relishing your own. Clean and cut the crabs
as illustrated
, then substitute crab for lobster in
the Master Recipe
, with the following slight modifications. Because crab pieces will bulk larger than lobster chests, you will need 2 big casseroles for the sautéing in Step 2, but may combine all together for the simmering in Step 3. You will not have enough liquid to cover all of the crab pieces in this step, and should toss the pieces several times during the 20 minutes of cooking; do not forget to add the liquid from the carapaces and the tomalley to simmer here, along with everything else. Note that it is only the chopped-up lower legs that go into the shellfish butter in Step 6, but add as well all the debris from the chests, claws, and upper legs to
simmer at the end of the step, allowing a good 10 minutes of cooking to extract every bit of flavor. For 2 quarts of wonderful soup, you will need 6 to 8 live crabs measuring 3 to 4 inches across the top of the shell.

Bisque d’Écrevisses

[Crayfish Bisque]

Fresh-water crayfish, crawfish, or
écrevisses
, as they are variously called, are miniature lobsterlike crustaceans 4 to 5 inches long. They are considered a supreme delicacy in Europe as well as in the southern Atlantic, the Pacific, and the Midwestern states where they are gathered. With the few minor differences noted here, substitute the word “crayfish” for the word “lobster” in the
Master Recipe
. To clean live crayfish, drop them headfirst in a basin of very hot water and leave for 2 to 3 minutes or until bubbles cease to rise. After draining them, pull out the central flap at the base of the tail to draw out along with it the intestinal tube. (This action of removing the intestine is called
châtter
in French recipes.) Sauté and simmer the crayfish whole, as directed in the Master Recipe, but they need only 10 minutes of cooking in Step 3. To shell them, remove the tail meat only, and use all of it for the garnish in Step 7; the chests and shell debris go into the butter, Step 6. If you wish to be very
haute cuisine
, have a dozen extra crayfish and make a small amount of a simple fish mousse, using the raw tail meat. Then remove chest-leg sections (but not claws and feelers) from covering shell, and fill the shells with the mousse. Poach 5 minutes in stock or bouillon before floating them in the bisque at serving time. You should have 24 to 30 live crayfish for 2 quarts of soup, plus 12 or so extra if you are doing the mousse.

TWO SCALLOP SOUPS WITH A CRAB OR LOBSTER VARIATION

Scallops are so easy to come by, fresh or frozen, that we feel they should have their place in the soup repertoire. Although scallops are rarely so used in France, they are delicious as the unique fish in a
bouillabaisse
or
bourride
, and they make a marvelous
velouté
or cream soup.

LES SAINT-JACQUES EN BOUILLABAISSE

[Bouillabaisse
of Scallops]

This heady Mediterranean brew of leeks, onions, garlic, tomatoes, and herbs plus scallops can be a complete meal when served with plenty of fresh French bread and followed by fruit and cheese.

Serving 4 as a main course, 6 as a soup course