The Best of the Chef's Winter Soups: Curried Lobster Soup

On this cold morning after you've donned the mittens and the layers of clothing and then snuggled into your warm jacket, how about traveling with us to the Bahama's? Eh, it's a nice thought!

So as we're going through the archives of the Examiner's resident Chef, we spotted something Chef Larry Edwards wrote a while back regarding his work (or lack thereof according to the features) in the islands and what popped out at us? An incredible soup featuring lobster and curry! If anything can warm the frigidness of a winter heart, it is a soup featuring curry (and yeah, the lobster sounds good too).

Ingredients needed to make Curried Lobster Soup (serves 4 as a first course):

• 3 Tbs. Butter
• 3 shallots, minced
• 1 stalk celery, chopped
• 1 Tbs. curry powder
• 1 tomato, chopped
• 2 cups fish stock
• 1 cup whipping cream
• 1 pound lobster meat, chopped
• 1 Tbs. lime juice
• ½ tsp. ground nutmeg
• 2 Tbs. minced parsley

Steps:

1. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter and then add the shallots and celery and sauté 3 minutes.
2. Stir in the curry powder, tomato and stock. Bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook 10 minutes.
3. In a small skillet over medium heat, add the whipping cream and cook just to the point where it comes to a boil.
4. Whisk the hot cream into the soup until well incorporated.
5. Stir in the lobster meat and cook 2 minutes.
6. Into the soup stir in the lime juice, nutmeg and parsley and cook 3 minutes before serving.

Chef's Note: If you cannot find fish stock at you market, the best substitution is bottled pure clam juice. You will also notice what is usually believed to be a big “no-no” in cooking with this dish. You are adding lime juice to a mixture containing cream! As opposed to other dishes, the lime juice will not curdle the cream and the reason for this is that you broke down the milk solids when you brought the cream to a boil.

The new cookbook from Chef Larry Edwards is now available from Amazon.com and bookstores worldwide. One of the most anticipated cookbooks of the year, "Edwardian Cooking: Inspired by Downton Abbey's Elegant Meals."