Lobster Corn Chowder with Potatoes and Sweet Red Pepper

By Sprig Originals ✓ · cooked up in Sprig

A creamy, pancetta-scented chowder that gets its deep flavor from a 40-minute stock built on lobster tail shells and stripped corn cobs — so two tails and four ears of corn are enough to flavor the whole pot. Yukon gold potatoes and sweet red pepper give it the trattoria-soup-of-the-day comfort, while a splash of cream and a squeeze of lemon keep it bright rather than heavy.

Ingredients

• 2 lobster tails, 6 to 8 oz each (thawed if frozen)
• 4 ears fresh corn, husked
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 small yellow onion, quartered (skin on)
• 1 celery rib, snapped in half
• 2 garlic cloves, smashed
• 2 bay leaves
• 3 thyme sprigs
• 1 tsp black peppercorns
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 8 cups water

• 3 oz pancetta, cut into 1/4-inch dice
• 2 tbsp unsalted butter
• 1 medium yellow onion, finely diced
• 2 celery ribs, finely diced
• 1 red bell pepper, seeded and finely diced
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 1/4 lb Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch dice
• 1 tsp kosher salt, plus more to taste
• 1/4 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 pinch cayenne pepper
• 3/4 cup heavy cream

• 1 tbsp unsalted butter
• 2 tsp fresh lemon juice
• 2 tbsp chopped fresh chives
• 1 tsp chopped fresh tarragon (optional)
• freshly ground black pepper
• crusty bread or oyster crackers, for serving

Instructions

1. Bring 6 cups of the water to a boil in a large pot. Slip in the lobster tails, reduce to a strong simmer, and cook 4 minutes — the shells will turn bright red and the meat will be just barely underdone. Lift the tails out with tongs into a bowl of ice water and reserve the cooking water in the pot.
2. When the tails are cool, cut down the length of the soft underside with kitchen shears, pull out the meat in one piece, and reserve every scrap of shell. Cut the meat into 1/2-inch chunks, cover, and refrigerate until the very end.
3. Cut the kernels from the 4 ears of corn (you want about 3 cups). Snap or cut the stripped cobs in half — these are your second source of flavor. Refrigerate the kernels.
4. Wipe out a second pot (or dump the reserved lobster water into a bowl and reuse the first). Heat the olive oil over medium-high, add the lobster shells, and toast, pressing and stirring, for 4 to 5 minutes until they smell deeply sweet and roasty. Stir in the tomato paste and cook 1 minute more until it darkens.
5. Pour in the white wine and simmer 1 minute, scraping the pot. Add the reserved lobster cooking water plus the remaining 2 cups fresh water, the halved corn cobs, quartered onion, celery, smashed garlic, bay leaves, thyme, and peppercorns. Bring to a bare simmer and cook uncovered, never boiling hard, for 40 minutes.
6. Strain the stock through a fine-mesh sieve into a large bowl, pressing on the solids to extract everything, then discard them. You should have about 5 to 5 1/2 cups; if you have more, simmer it down, and if less, top up with water. Rinse and dry the pot.
7. Set the pot over medium heat and cook the pancetta until the fat has rendered and the edges are crisp, 5 to 6 minutes. Add the 2 tablespoons butter, then the diced onion, celery, and red bell pepper. Cook 7 to 8 minutes, stirring, until soft but not browned. Add the minced garlic and cook 45 seconds.
8. Sprinkle the flour over the vegetables and cook, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes to lose the raw taste. Whisk in the warm lobster–corn stock a cup at a time, smoothing out lumps as you go.
9. Add the potatoes, 1 teaspoon salt, the smoked paprika, and cayenne. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook uncovered 14 to 16 minutes, until the potatoes are tender at the center of a paring knife.
10. Add the corn kernels and simmer 4 minutes more. For body, scoop about 1 1/2 cups of the chowder into a blender (or use an immersion blender in a measuring cup), purée until smooth, and stir it back in — this thickens the pot without extra flour.
11. Stir in the heavy cream and warm the chowder to just below a simmer, about 2 minutes. Do not let it boil once the cream is in. Taste and adjust salt.
12. Turn off the heat. Stir in the lobster meat, the final tablespoon of butter, and the lemon juice, and let the chowder sit 3 minutes off the burner — the residual heat finishes the lobster perfectly and keeps it tender.
13. Ladle into warm bowls, shower with chives, tarragon if using, and plenty of black pepper. Serve with crusty bread or oyster crackers.

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Nutrition (per serving, estimated)

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