Photo: Shrimp Bisque Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined, shells reserved
- 4 cups seafood stock
- 3 tablespoons good olive oil
- 2 cups chopped leeks, white and light green parts (3 leeks)
- 1 tablespoon chopped garlic (3 cloves)
- Pinch cayenne pepper
- 1/4 cup Cognac or brandy
- 1/4 cup dry sherry
- 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 cups half-and-half
- 1/3 cup tomato paste
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Directions
Place the shrimp shells and seafood stock in a saucepan and simmer for 15 minutes. Strain and reserve the stock. Add enough water to make 3 3/4 cups.
Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large pot or Dutch oven. Add the leeks and cook them for 10 minutes over medium-low heat, or until the leeks are tender but not browned. Add the garlic and cook 1 more minute. Add the cayenne pepper and shrimp and cook over medium to low heat for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the Cognac and cook for 1 minute, then the sherry and cook for 3 minutes longer. Transfer the shrimp and leeks to a food processor fitted with a steel blade and process until coarsely pureed.
In the same pot, melt the butter. Add the flour and cook over medium-low heat for 1 minute, stirring with a wooden spoon. Add the half-and-half and cook, stirring with a whisk, until thickened, about 3 minutes. Stir in the pureed shrimp, the stock, tomato paste, salt, and pepper and heat gently until hot but not boiling. Season, to taste, and serve hot.
* Shellfish
Warning: Consumption of raw or undercooked shellfish may substantially increase the risk of foodborne illness.
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By lala1128
on January 20, 2012
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this recipe is wonderful! i used a seafood stock that i found at the grocery store and added the shrimp shells. i used both the brandy and dry sherry and found that they needed slightly longer to cook off than the recipe states. if you want a thicker soup, turn up the heat to medium high when making the roux with flour and butter (just remember to stir the entire time!. i thought that the 2 tsp. of salt the recipe called for was too much and i just salted to taste and the final product turned out great! will definitely make again!
By Eisenhorn
on December 15, 2011
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I tired this recipe and loved it. I made it exactly as above and it worked great. My wife and I had it as a soup the first night and then we used it as a bread dip the second and it was great both times. I was wondering however if I can substitute cooking sherry for the dry sherry? Its quite expensive to go out and buy a fresh bottle of sherry each time especially since I only need a 1/4 cup and I dont drink the remaining sherry.
By Tijoda
Frisco, TX
on December 08, 2011
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Excellent. I made shrimp scampi the night before, and had shrimp with heads on. So I cut the heads off and added them and the shells to the pasta water to flavor the linguini. The next day I used the stock for this wonderful recipe. I did have to buy a frozen 1lb bag of raw deviened shrimp, b/c I used the shrimp in the scampi. But the quality of the shrimp at $5.99 was less important b/c of the intense broth that I had to use. I stained the broth and had enough for the recipe and 4 1/2 c to freeze. So flavorful. Just a sprinkle of cayenne and not a pinch, gave it just the right back heat I prefer.
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