Lobster & Sweetcorn Chowder with Tarragon Oil

⏱ 90 min · Serves 4

A silky, golden chowder built on a proper lobster shell broth, sweet with charred corn and finished with a vivid green tarragon oil. It tastes like a seaside restaurant special — and it's very much doable at home in an afternoon.

Per serving: 648 kcal · 34.0g protein · 42.0g carbs · 39.0g fat

Ingredients

• 2 cooked lobsters (about 600g each), or 350g cooked lobster meat plus 500g shells
• 4 corn cobs (or 500g frozen sweetcorn)
• 1.2 litres water
• 1 small onion, halved
• 1 carrot, roughly chopped
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tbsp tomato purée
• 50g unsalted butter
• 2 rashers smoked streaky bacon, finely diced (optional)
• 1 leek, white part only, finely sliced
• 2 sticks celery, finely diced
• 300g floury potatoes, peeled and cut into 1cm dice
• 100ml dry white wine
• 200ml double cream
• 1 tsp sweet smoked paprika
• Juice of 1/2 lemon
• Sea salt and white pepper
• 30g tarragon leaves (about 1 large bunch)
• 100ml mild olive oil or grapeseed oil
• 1 tbsp flat-leaf parsley leaves
• Snipped chives, to serve

Method

1. Pick the lobster: remove the meat from the tails and claws, cut into bite-sized chunks, cover and chill. Keep all the shells.
2. Make the stock: crush the shells and toast them in a dry large pan over high heat for 3 minutes until fragrant. Add the tomato purée, cook 1 minute, then add the water, onion, carrot and bay. Simmer gently for 30 minutes, then strain and keep the broth (you want about 1 litre).
3. Meanwhile, strip the kernels from the corn cobs. Char half the kernels in a dry hot frying pan until spotted brown; set aside for garnish. Add the stripped cobs to the simmering stock for extra sweetness.
4. Tarragon oil: blanch the tarragon and parsley in boiling water for 15 seconds, refresh in iced water, squeeze very dry. Blitz with the oil and a pinch of salt for 1 minute until vivid green, then strain through a fine sieve or coffee filter. Set aside.
5. Melt the butter in a heavy pot. Add the bacon, if using, and cook 3 minutes. Add the leek and celery with a pinch of salt and sweat gently for 8 minutes without colouring.
6. Add the wine and bubble until nearly gone. Add the potatoes, the uncharred corn kernels, paprika and the lobster stock. Simmer 15–18 minutes until the potatoes are tender.
7. Lift out about a third of the solids with a slotted spoon, blitz smooth with a ladle of broth, and stir back in — this thickens the chowder naturally. Stir in the cream and warm through; season with salt, white pepper and lemon juice.
8. Take off the boil, add the lobster meat and let it warm for 2 minutes in the residual heat only (it will toughen if it boils).
9. Ladle into warm bowls. Scatter with the charred corn and chives, then swirl over the tarragon oil at the table.