Lobster Bisque

Finely dice the onion, carrots and celery, and mince the garlic; set aside separately.

Assemble the bouquet garni by tying the bay leaf, thyme and parsley stalks together with kitchen string.

Bring a very large pot of heavily salted water to a rolling boil. Plunge the lobsters in headfirst and cook for 8 minutes, then transfer immediately to a large bowl of iced water to stop the cooking; reserve 500ml of the cooking water.

Once the lobsters are cool enough to handle, twist off the claws and tails, extract all the meat and cut it into generous chunks; refrigerate the meat until needed. Crack and collect the shells, heads and any roe or tomalley, splitting the heads with a heavy knife.

Preheat the oven to 220°C (200°C fan). Spread the shells and heads across a large roasting tray, dot with 1 tablespoon of the butter, and roast for 20–25 minutes, turning once, until deeply caramelised and fragrant.

Heat the olive oil and remaining 3 tablespoons of butter in a large heavy-based pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion, carrots and celery and cook, stirring occasionally, for 8–10 minutes until softened and lightly golden.

Stir in the garlic and tomato paste, coating the vegetables well, and cook for 3 minutes until the paste darkens slightly and smells sweet.

Add the roasted shells to the pot, pour in the Cognac, then carefully ignite it with a long match or lighter and let the flames die down naturally, shaking the pot gently.

Pour in the white wine and cook, stirring and scraping up the caramelised fond from the base of the pot, for 4 minutes until reduced by half.

Add the fish stock, the reserved lobster cooking water, milk, paprika, cayenne, bouquet garni and uncooked rice. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook uncovered, stirring occasionally, for 35 minutes until the rice is completely tender and the broth is deeply flavoured.

Remove and discard the bouquet garni.

Working in batches, transfer the contents of the pot — shells included — to a high-powered blender and blitz on high for 2 minutes per batch until as smooth as possible.

Set a fine-mesh sieve lined with a double layer of dampened muslin over a clean pot. Strain the blended bisque through in batches, pressing firmly with a ladle to extract every drop of liquid; discard the dry solids.

Return the strained bisque to medium heat, stir in the double cream, and simmer gently for 8 minutes until it coats the back of a spoon. Taste and adjust the seasoning with salt, white pepper and lemon juice.

Add the reserved lobster meat to the hot bisque and warm gently for 2–3 minutes; use a probe (meat) thermometer to confirm the lobster meat has reached an internal temperature of 63°C before serving.

Ladle into warmed bowls, finish with the chopped fresh tarragon, and serve immediately with crusty bread.