Rick Stein

Chef Jon Ganna's Mango, Lobster and Ginger Soup

Prep Time: 1 hour + 2-3 hours chilling time
(Infuse fruit 2 days in advance)
Cooking Time: 6-7 minutes

Serves 4-6

2 medium mangoes
1 ¼ cups water
8 oz white wine
Bouquet garni (bay leaf, dill and flat leaf parsley)
2 pound lobster
2 sticks lemon grass
2 oz piece of ginger root, peeled
Salt and pepper
A little vegetable oil
Pinch of fresh flat leaf parsley
3 fl oz heavy cream
A few strands of chives
3 fl oz natural yogurt
Juice of 1 lemon

To Prepare the Mangoes:
Peel both mangoes and de-seed by cutting away the flesh from both sides of the stone. Dice one of the halves and leave aside for garnish.

To Poach the Lobster:
Put the water on to boil with the wine and the bouquet garni. Place the lobster into the poaching liquid and cook for 15-20 minutes. Remove the lobster and immerse into cold water.

To Make the Soup:
Crack the lobster claws and remove the flesh. Add to the stock (poaching liquid) with the lemon grass, ginger and the three mango halves. Cook until the mango is tender. Remove the lemon grass and puree the mixture. Place back in the pan and simmer on a medium/low heat until reduced by half - about 5 -10 minutes. Remove from the heat and refrigerate for 2 hours.

To Prepare the Lobster:
Split the lobster in half lengthwise, extract the tail and wash one half of the shells thoroughly. (Discard the other half.)

To Cook the Lobster:
Dice the meat into bite-sized chunks and season with salt and pepper. Heat a little oil in a pan and fry the lobster with the parsley, for two minutes and then set aside to cool.

And Finally:
Remove the soup from the refrigerator and fold in the cream. Pour into each serving bowl, add the lobster shell and fill it with lobster meat. Garnish with a couple of strands of chives, the reserved diced mango and a dollop of the yogurt.