This dish was born from economic necessity. While I love to cook with marron, at $20 or so each they are expensive, so we need to get a second dish out of them. Thinking bisque-wise I started by experimenting with roasting the shell heads fiercely over the fire but the result was a little bit bitter, so we tried it again, starting the shells in an inch or so of chicken fat with some fennel tops and carrots, which lent the shells a nice sweetness and left us with this rich, earthy broth.
Some of the best squid and cuttlefish comes from Port Phillip Bay and when it’s on I often order it in for the restaurant without a plan for what to do with it. Used raw here it provides the dish with a smooth textural element that is mirrored by the nice, silky mouthfeel of the broth.