Lobster Bisque - cooking recipe

Ingredients

2 cooked lobsters (1 lb each with shell)
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 medium onion (Minced)
1 large carrot (Minced)
1 stalk celery (Minced)
1 teaspoon garlic (Chopped)
2 tablespoons flour
1/2 cup dry sherry
1 cup lobster stock
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 bay leaves
1 sprig fresh thyme
1/4 teaspoon paprika
2 cups heavy cream
salt (optional)
pepper (optional)
1/4 cup brandy or 1/4 cup sherry wine

Preparation

Remove all the meat from the cooked lobster shells. Keep lobster shells and cut them up small using good kitchen scissors. Roughly cut up lobster into bite size pieces and keep chilled.
Heat a medium size saute pan and add the butter over high heat. When hot add lobster shells, lower heat to medium low and cook for around 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Add the minced onion, carrot, celery and garlic. Sprinkle in the flour and cook for 2 - 3 minutes.
Transfer everything into a large saucepan. Deglaze the empty saute pan with the sherry. Then add sherry with the pan drippings to the large saucepan. Heat the mixture over a low heat and slowly add the lobster stock until the bisque thickens. Add the tomato paste, bay leaf, thyme, paprika and heavy cream, and let simmer for 5 minutes. Let cool a bit.
Pass the soup through a fine sieve. Sometimes needed to do twice to catch all the shells. Put the liquid back into a saucepan and over a gentle heat re warm. Taste for seasonings of salt or pepper. Add the lobster meat, but be real careful not to cook them.
Serve in bowls each with a bit of lobster in it. Absolutely divine with the brandy or sherry drizzled over.