Lobster Soup

Ingredients

• 3 large or 6 small lobsters
• 1 French roll crumb
• 2 anchovies
• 1 onion
• 1 small bunch sweet herbs
• 1 strip lemon peel
• 60 g butter
• pinch nutmeg
• 1 tsp flour
• 500 ml cream
• 500 ml milk
• forcemeat balls
• to taste mace
• to taste salt
• to taste pepper
• bread crumbs
• 1 egg
• 2 litres water

Method

Kill the lobsters humanely — a sharp knife through the cross on the head — then separate the claws and body. Pick all the meat clean from the shells, body, and claws, reserving it in a bowl. Extract the roe (spawn) and the soft green liver (tomalley) and set aside; discard the dark intestinal tract and the stomach sac behind the head.

Crush the empty shells, claws, and any trimmings in a mortar or with a heavy object — you want fragments, not powder. This shellfish debris is your stock-making base. Transfer to a heavy pot with the anchovies, onion halved, herb bundle, lemon peel, and 2 litres of cold water. Bring to a rolling boil and hold it there for 45 minutes to an hour. The agitation extracts the sweet proteins and minerals from the shell; a gentle simmer leaves the broth thin and wan. Strain through a sieve lined with muslin, pressing gently on the solids but not forcing them through — you want clarity, not grit.

Pound the reserved roe and liver together with the butter, nutmeg, and flour until you have a smooth paste. This mixture, called a coral butter, will thicken the soup and give it its glossy, bivalent colour. Whisk it slowly into the warm stock off the heat, then add the cream and milk. Return to a simmer and taste — the broth should taste distinctly of the sea, not just salt water.

Cut the reserved lobster meat into bite-sized pieces and season generously with mace, salt, and pepper. Mix the remaining flour and bread crumbs together, bind with beaten egg, and fold in the seasoned meat. Shape into small balls about the size of a walnut. Poach them gently in the hot soup for 8–10 minutes — they're done when they float and feel firm when pressed.

Ladle into heated bowls and finish each with a knob of fresh butter stirred through. The forcemeat balls should hold their shape but yield at the bite; the soup itself should coat the back of a spoon without being heavy.