I’ve made this soup or a version of this soup like 5 times since I first time I made it. It’s slowly becoming a staple and there are a million ways to make it with tinned lobster or frozen or even fresh; using vegetable broth as a quicker method, with frozen corn or fresh corn (I’m sure you could even use canned corn if you wanted), using white potatoes or rice instead of dairy-free milk, crab or scallops instead of lobster…the possibilities are endless.
I initially drew inspiration from the classic corn and crab bisque. I think this bisque would be really bomb made with green crabs and honestly I would have made it that way if I had green crabs. That’s actually what I wanted to make with tinned crab but Whole Foods didn’t have tinned crab and I really did not want to be bothered with fresh shellfish, but they did have tinned lobster which isn’t actually dairy free so I would sub with frozen lobster instead. Technically this isn’t a bisque, because the broth isn’t made with the shells of crustaceans, but texturally it’s most similar to bisque. I also I really wanted this to be corny and not so seafoody, so I made a broth base out of frozen corn cobs saved from meals in late summer. I highly recommend going the extra mile and saving the corn cobs over time and making this later in the year.
Standard Ingredients
~2 cups Fresh or frozen corn (I love corn so I put a little too much corn feel free to cut this down a bit)
fresh frozen or tinned lobster (the key is to have it shelled!)
dried green herb blend (here is a good place to use Curio’s Herbs de Romance, but feel free to sub with a blend of parsley, thyme, oregano and tarragon)
smoked paprika (hot or sweet works wells, depending on if you prefer your food with a bit more of kick or more mellow)
vegan butter (again could sub with olive or avocado oil, if you go vegan butter I highly recommend Miyoko’s)
Salt + pepper
1 small shallot
2-3 cloves of garlic
ingredients you need to pick one of
dairy free yogurt (good option is Forager Cashew Yogurt) or 2 small white potatoes or 1 cup of rice (I used brown)
corn cobs (at least 4 but you could do more) or veggie broth (to make this more like a bisque you technically should use crustacean shells but I rarely buy in shell seafood)
Instructions
This is super simple essentially you want to heat up the broth and your creamy element and blend, then add corn and cook, finally and lobster at the very end to heat up.
If starting with corn cobs
- Cut the corn cobs into smaller segments about 3-4in length, toss in about 1 tablespoon of oil or melted butter, and roast (either in pot or on a baking sheet) at 400 for 15-20 minutes (alternatively you could char them using your oven’s broiler for about 5 minutes).
- If using potatoes cut your potatoes into chunks. In a pot on medium-low, add 2 tablespoons of butter or oil, add potatoes, 1 tablespoon of green herbs, and shallots. Sautee for about 3 -5 minutes.
- Remove cobs from oven and add to an 8 cup stock pot along with 1 tablespoon of your herbs, paprika, garlic, and rice if using instead of potatoes; fill with water until there is about an inch of space between the waterline and the top of the pot. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer (there should be little bubbles (~1-2mm) coming to the surface). Simmer for ~1-2 hours or until the water has reduced by half. Don’t rush this.
- Remove the cobs from the pot. and blend the potatoes or rice in the broth using your blender. If you’re not using the potatoes you can just remove the cobs.
If starting with veggie broth
- In a pot, add 2-3 tablespoons of butter (oil). Add shallot, 2 tablespoons of green herbs, paprika, garlic, and potatoes if using. Sautee on low until fragrant and shallot is soft.
- Add broth and rice if using to pot and stir. Cook potatoes or rice until soft and blend.
Soup steps
- Add corn to pot of your broth and cook for about 7 minutes.
- Turn off stove. Add approx. 1/2 -3/4 c of yogurt and mix (you could add this before you cook your corn and blend it with your immersion blender but I don’t like cooking yogurt). Add frozen lobster if using.
- Serve soup in your vessel of choice, with buttered crunchy toast, and top soup with your cooked lobster on top.