Lobster bisque is possibly my favorite item to order at a restaurant. I love to learn to re-create my favorite restaurant dishes, but lobster bisque is a bit prohibitive due to the whole buy-a-live-lobster-butcher-him-in-your-kitchen thing. So a few years ago I found a great Shrimp Bisque recipe instead, altered it slightly, and loved it. (And all without bringing a live lobster home!)
This is definitely a weekend dish for me-it takes almost two hours to make-so I always make a double batch and freeze the extras. It’s well worth the effort, and is always a hit with my seafood-loving family.
Ingredients
Shrimp Stock:
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup roughly chopped yellow onions
- 1/4 cup roughly chopped carrots
- 1/4 cup roughly chopped celery
- 1 large clove garlic, peeled and smashed
- 2 bay leaves
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 pound medium shrimp, shelled and deveined, shells reserved, meat used for bisque
- 8 cups water
Shrimp Bisque:
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 cup chopped yellow onions
- 1/2 cup chopped carrots
- 1/2 cup chopped celery
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne
- 1/2 teaspoon chopped garlic
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 4 cups shrimp stock
- 1 tsp white wine vinegar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh tarragon
- 1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
- 1/2 pound shrimp reserved from shrimp stock recipe
- 3/4 cup heavy cream
- 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
- Chopped chives, garnish
Directions
To make the stock, in a large heavy pot, melt 2 tablespoons of butter over medium high heat. Add the onions, carrots, celery, garlic, bay leaves, salt, and peppercorns, and cook, stirring, for 3 minutes. Add the shrimp shells and cook, stirring, until golden, about 3 minutes. Add the water and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes, skimming to remove any foam that forms on the surface. Remove from the heat and strain through a fine mesh strainer into a clean container, pressing on the shrimp shells to extract as much liquid as possible. Discard the shells.
In a clean large pot, melt the butter over medium-high heat. Add the onions, carrots, celery, salt, and cayenne, and cook, stirring, for 3 minutes. Add the garlic, tomato paste, and cook until starting to brown, about 2 minutes.
Add shrimp stock, 1 tsp vinegar, tarragon and thyme and simmer for 20 minutes.
Remove from the heat and puree with a hand-held immersion blender or in batches in a blender or food processor.
Return to the heat and add the shrimp, cream and lemon juice. Simmer gently until the shrimp are cooked through and the flavors marry, about 5 minutes. Adjust the seasoning, salt and pepper to taste.
Ladle the soup into bowls, garnish with chopped chives and serve immediately.
-Adapted from Emeril Lagasse
