This recipe I made because I had an abundance of langostino lobster and homemade lobster stock in the freezer. It's adapted from this Food & Wine recipe for Lobster Bisque.

Langostino is Spanish for “little lobster.” Although langostino’s taste and texture are similar to lobster meat, langostino is not the crustacean Americans typically refer to as “lobster” — American, or Maine, lobster and spiny lobster. Learn more about the difference between langostino and lobster here.

• 12 cups lobster stock
• 2lbs Langostino Lobster
• 1/2 cup (4 ounces) unsalted butter
• 1 large yellow onion, chopped (about 2 cups)
• 2 celery stalks, chopped (about 3/4 cup)
• 6oz tomato paste
• 1/2 cup cream sherry
• 3/4 cup uncooked rice
• 2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt, divided, plus more to taste
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, plus more to taste
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper, plus more to taste
• 1 1/2 cups heavy cream, divided
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh chives

Step 1    

Defrost langostino lobster by running cold water over it in a colander.

Step 2    

Melt butter in a large saucepan or clean stockpot over medium. Add onion and celery, and cook, stirring occasionally, until very soft and translucent, about 15 minutes. Stir in tomato paste, and cook, stirring often, until brick red in color, about 2 minutes. Add sherry; increase heat to high, and bring to a boil. Stir in rice, thyme, bay leaves, black pepper, and 2 teaspoons salt. Add lobster stock, and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer until rice is very soft, about 25 minutes. Remove and discard bay leaves. Remove from heat, and let stand 15 minutes.

Step 3    

Place one-third of mixture in a blender. Remove center piece of blender lid (to allow steam to escape); secure lid on blender, and place a clean towel over opening in lid. Process until very smooth, about 1 minute. Transfer mixture to a large saucepan. Repeat procedure 2 times with remaining bisque.

Step 4    

If serving bisque hot, reheat over medium-low, stirring, until hot. If serving bisque cold, chill until cold.

Step 5    

When ready to serve, stir lemon juice, cayenne, and 1 cup cream into bisque.

Step 6 

Warm lobster pieces in a saucepan over low heat until just warmed through.

Step 7 

Place remaining 1/2 cup cream in a chilled bowl, and whisk until soft peaks form. Stir remaining 1 /4 teaspoon salt into whipped cream.

Step 8    

Season bisque with salt, lemon juice, and cayenne to taste. Divide lobster pieces equally among 8 bowls, spoon bisque on top of lobster and finish off with whipped cream and chives.