Description
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil or bacon drippings
½ cup onion chopped
1 ½ teaspoons garlic minced
1 cup dry white wine
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon celery salt
1 teaspoon dried thyme
½ teaspoon Hungarian Sweet Paprika
½ teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 cups of either fish, chicken, vegetable or lobster stock (see instructions below)
1 Turkish bay leaf
1 cup heavy cream
4 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon arrowroot powder
Optional: Add 2 cups peeled, chopped and cooked potatoes for a heartier bisque
Seafood:
I have made this recipe many times with a variety of seafood depending upon what I have on hand or what is on sale. You can choose from one or any combination of the below. Seafood should be cleaned and pre-cooked before adding to bisque. Make certain not to overcook the seafood!
4 lobster tails fresh or frozen in shells – Boil lobster tails for 6-8 minutes or until shells are bright red. Remove tails to cool and reserve water. Remove meat from shells then return the shell to water and boil for another 10 minutes to make your own lobster stock. Using fine mesh strainer, strain lobster stock and reserve 2 cups. Chop lobster meat into bite sized pieces. Set aside.
or
½ lb. shrimp fresh or frozen – cleaned, peeled, de-veined and steamed
½ lb. salmon or cod – baked and cut into bit sized pieces
½ lb. smoked salmon or other smoked fish
Directions:
Add olive oil or bacon drippings to medium sized Dutch oven or stock pot and heat over medium high heat. Sauté onion and garlic and cook for about 5 minutes. Slowly add the wine, then stir in the Worcestershire, celery salt, thyme, paprika, cayenne pepper, and black pepper.
Stir in the tomato paste and stock of your choice, add bay leaf and simmer 10 minutes.
Add 1 teaspoon arrowroot to measuring cup and 4 tablespoons bisque, mix well and add back to pot to help thicken bisque. Remove bay leaf and puree mixture in blender (be careful, soup is hot) or with a stick blender in the pot until smooth. Return mixture to pot and add in the heavy cream and butter and additional celery salt if needed.
Add seafood, return bay leaf to pot and continue to simmer for another 5-10 minutes until flavors are fully developed and bisque is thickened.
Serve immediately with crusty sourdough bread.
