You Can Use the Shells?

It had never occurred to me to treat lobster (and crab shells for that matter) as soup "bones". While we didn't make Keller's lobster bisque with the shells, I decided to make my own version (also because we didn't have all the ingredients that other recipes called for). It is loosely based on one of my favorite foods - lobster sauteed in ginger and scallion. It smells amazing, delicious on its own and I'm thinking of cooking rice in it. And I will NEVER throw away shells without making stock again.

* The shells from two 1 1/2-pound lobsters (about 1 1/3 pounds)
* 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
* 2 medium leeks, white and pale green only, thinly sliced crosswise (about 1 1/3 cups)
* * 2 cups Chinese cooking wine (rice wine)
* ginger
* 2 ripe tomatoes
* About 7 cups water

1. Using kitchen shears, cut the shells into 2-inch pieces. In a large (14-inch), heavy saucepan, heat 1/4 cup of the olive oil over high heat. Add the lobster shells and sauté, tossing frequently, until fragrant, 6 minutes. (If you don't have a large enough pan, sauté them in two batches). Push the shells to one side of the pan and add the remaining tablespoon olive oil to the empty side. Reduce the heat to medium, add the leeks to the oil and toss with the tongs; sauté until softened and golden, about 8 minutes. Add the ginger and sauté 1 minute.

2. Stir in the wine, Squash the tomatoes in your hands and add to the pot. Add enough cold water to cover by 1 inch. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat. Simmer 1 hour, adding water as necessary to keep the shells covered with liquid.

3. Pour the broth through a fine strainer, pressing to extract all liquid from the solids. Pour into plastic containers and let cool completely before refrigerating or freezing.

The broth will keep 3 days in the refrigerator, and several months in the freezer.