Lobster Mushroom Bisque
An Old Bay chickpea stew tuned toward a seafood-chowder flavor with fresh lobster mushrooms and dulse flakes. No added fat, no added liquid, and no seafood, but it reads like there is. The mushrooms and onion cook in their own water while canned tomato juice does the deglazing.
Prep
15 min
Cook
1 hr 15 min
Total
1 hr 30 min
Servings
8
Ingredients
Instructions
- 1
Clean and cut the mushrooms: Brush the lobster mushrooms clean with a dry brush or wipe them with a barely damp cloth. Do not run them under water, since the flesh absorbs it quickly. Trim any soft or discolored spots, then slice or tear them into bite-sized pieces.
- 2
Dry-sear the mushrooms: Heat your widest dry pan over medium-high, then add the mushrooms with nothing else. They will squeak and stick for a minute, then release their water. Keep going until that water has cooked off and they start browning at the edges, 12 to 15 minutes. Stir only occasionally so they get real contact with the pan.
- 3
Sweat the onion: Add the diced onion and put a lid on for the first 6 minutes. The onion will release its own water, which lifts the browned bits and keeps nothing from scorching. Take the lid off and cook another 4 minutes or so until it is soft and translucent.
- 4
Deglaze with the tomatoes: Pour in the diced tomatoes with all of their juice and scrape the bottom of the pan clean. That browned layer is most of the flavor you just built, and the tomato juice is the only liquid you need to lift it.
- 5
Blend the base: Blend half of the chickpeas with the coconut milk and tomato sauce until smooth. It should be thick and pourable, roughly the texture of a bisque.
- 6
Combine everything: Add the blended base, the remaining chickpeas, the Old Bay seasoning, and the oregano to the pot. Stir well.
- 7
Simmer: Simmer gently on the stove for 45 minutes, stirring now and then so the coconut milk does not catch on the bottom. Crock pot: low for 4 hours. Instant pot: 12 minutes on high pressure with a natural release.
- 8
Finish with seaweed: Turn off the heat. Stir in the dulse or nori seaweed flakes and lemon juice, then let it rest 5 minutes before tasting. Adding the seaweed at the end keeps it briny rather than bitter. Salt only after this point, since Old Bay and dulse both bring their own.