Butternut Lobster

I love seafood. Crab, lobster, mussels, shrimp, all of it. But sometimes it seems like a real hassle to prepare. Maybe I'm a bit lazy? When it comes to lobster and crab prefer just buying cooked meat in local seafood markets. I am fortunate to have several options close to me and when I recently saw fresh cooked lobster meat immediately knew I wanted to make a soup. Seafood soup is just pure joy for me. And what better way to enjoy it now with sweet, creamy pumpkin?

Most seafood soup recipes use cream and it definitely can be used in this recipe, but I think the pureed pumpkin is thick enough that you can get away with using half and half or regular milk creamy and still have that rich, silky texture one expects in a cream soup.

The recipe also calls for stocks, which I realize might be a pain for some of you who do not like to make homemade stocks. I found a local butcher shop near me that carries homemade fish stock, but it's really not hard to do. For this recipe you can use fish stock, shrimp or lobster stock to stock. And if all this sounds complicated and troublesome for you, use chicken broth. The soup itself does not have the same flavor of seafood, but it will still be delicious and will work well with lobster meat.

INGREDIENTS
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
2 leeks, pale green and white parts only
1 medium shallot, minced (approximately ½ cup)
3 ribs celery, diced
4 cups butternut squash, cubed
⅓ cup + 1 tablespoon cognac
1½ cups fish stock
1 sprig thyme
1 cup half and half (or 50% whole milk and 50% heavy cream)
½ teaspoon sea salt or to taste
black pepper to taste
pinch of cayenne pepper
1 cup fresh lobster meat, chopped

DIRECTIONS
1. Heat the olive oil in a dutch oven or large heavy-bottom saucepan over low heat. Add the leeks, shallot and celery with a pinch of salt. Allow the vegetables to sweat for several minutes, stirring periodically, until softened. Add the butternut squash and cook for several more minutes, stirring.

2. Turn the heat up to medium and allow a brown glaze to slowly build on the bottom of the pan by stirring less often. Keep an eye on it to make sure it doesn't burn. Use a spatula to scrape up and incorporate the brown bits a few times. After several minutes, add ⅓ cup cognac to deglaze the pan and loosen the rest of the brown bits. Allow to alcohol to reduce down to almost nothing, stirring the vegetables frequently, and then add the fish stock and thyme leaves.

3. Bring the liquid to a boil and then cover the pot and reduce the heat to low. Allow the soup to simmer for 45 minutes.

4. Carefully transfer the soup to a blender and puree until very smooth. Wipe down the dutch oven and return the soup to the pot. Stir in the half and half, 1 tablespoon cognac, and the salt, pepper and cayenne. Add the lobster meat, optionally reserving some for garnish. Serve hot. To reheat the soup, strain out the lobster meat first to avoid overcooking it. Add it back in once the soup is hot.