The Four Seasons Biltmore in Santa Barbara is probably one of the most beautiful hotels in the world, situated just across from the Pacific Ocean. Part of their property extends to a private club, our local gift: the Coral Casino. Opened in 1937 and world famous for its gorgeous ocean views, spectacular sunsets, and upscale restaurant, it is accessible only to hotel guests and club members.
We’ve had so many life cycle events in their ballroom — bar mitzvahs, weddings, birthday celebrations, and so many lovely meals at their informal downstairs cafe and beautiful upstairs Tydes restaurant. The menu changes often and it’s not always easy to coax their secrets out of them. But Chef Jason kindly consented to part with his lobster bisque recipe just in time for Valentine’s Day, and we share it with you here. Smooth and velvety, it’s a little extravagance for a special occasion or a cozy night in.
- ½ cup bacon, diced
- ¼ cup celery, diced
- ½ cup onion, chopped
- ¼ cup olive oil
- ¼ cup flour
- ½ cup white wine
- ¼ cup potato, diced
- 2 cups seafood stock
- 1 cup cream
- 1 teaspoon fresh thyme, chopped finely
- 1 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
- 1 pound cooked lobster meat, broken up into chunks
- salt and white pepper to taste
- Cook bacon in a frying pan until crispy, then drain off most of the fat.
- In the remaining bacon fat, saute onion and celery until tender, about 10 minutes.
- Add olive oil, whisk in flour and cook for 3 minutes.
- Deglaze the pan with white wine and then reduce liquid by half.
- Add potatoes and cook until tender, about 10 minutes.
- Add stock and cream and bring to a simmer (do not boil).
- Add fresh thyme and Old Bay seasoning.
- Add lobster meat.
- At this point, use an immersion blender (or working in small batches, a regular blender) to make the puree.
- Simmer and season to taste with salt and white pepper.
Oh, I have such lovely memories of lunch with you two girlies on the deck upstairs at the Coral Casino! Ahhhh!
And what a score you made, to get that recipe! I have my homemade New England lobster stock resting comfortably in the freezer just waiting to be made into a bisque with our delicious and INEXPENSIVE lobsters up here in NH. It seems I now have the perfect recipe!
Question: It seems here that you use the immersion blencder AFTER you’ve added the lobster meat. Is that correct?
Love to you both! patty
Hi Patty — How lucky you are to have that fabulous lobster and stock available! Definitely a delicious perk of living in New England. As for your question, we deliberated about when to puree the soup; the exact recipe from the chef didn’t say. The plus side of using the immersion blender after adding the lobster meat is that you’ll get a smooth soup, as seen in the photo. You could reserve a bit before adding to use as garnish if you want. And of course, if you want a chunkier soup, add the lobster after pureeing, or for that matter, don’t puree at all for bites of potato, bacon and meat. (Is it still called a bisque if it’s not smooth? Not sure, but definitely will taste great either way!) Come back and see us soon… we’ll do lunch at the Coral!!
Thanx, Rhona! I think I’ll do both! Immersion blend some of the lobster with the rest of the ingredients for the smooth texture that has that wonderful “mouth feel”. And then garnish with a few chunks of lobster.
Lunch at the Coral . . . it’s a date, hopefully in the not toooo distant future!