Any time I am stressed I tend to turn to food. It is no surprise to any regular reader of this blog that I love to bake. There is something very comforting to me about taking flour, sugar, butter and eggs and turning them into a delicious coffee cake or a tasty batch of cookies. When it comes to dinners there is nothing I love more than a bowl of thick and chunky soup. The kind of soup that takes some time to make. The secret to a good seafood bisque recipe is in the stock - that is why any time I make shrimp or lobster I save and freeze the shells. When I have enough I use them to make a batch of seafood stock and then use it for either lobster bisque or seafood bisque or seafood pot pie. I’ve also used the stock in lobster risotto. It’s just another aspect in the nothing goes to waste on the farm lifestyle.

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Seafood Bisque Recipe

For the Seafood Stock

shells from shrimp, lobster and/or crab
water to cover
1/2 onion
1 shallot
1 carrot
1 turnip
carrot greens
parsley
3 bay leaves, preferably organic
salt

For the Bisque

3 quarts seafood stock (or however much you have made and adjust accordingly)
4 cups assorted seafood - I used Alaskan King Crab, shrimp and scallops
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
4 TBS unsalted butter, softened
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup sherry (optional but it does add a lovely flavor)
salt and pepper
paprika

additional flour mixed with water if necessary to further thicken

If you have a quality seafood stock in a box use that and skip the stock making steps

Take all of the shells you have amassed and put them in a large soup pot. Cover them with water and bring to a boil.
Reduce the heat and let them simmer for several hours (I let mine go for two.)
Add in the onion, shallot, turnip, carrot, carrot greens, parsley and bay leaves. Let cook for another couple of hours. Taste and season with salt and pepper
Strain the solids out of the stock and clean the pot. Pour the liquid through cheesecloth or a very fine sieve back into the pot.
Take the softened butter and the flour and mix it together until you have a very thick paste.

Bring the stock to boil. Reduce to a simmer. Dip a whisk into the mixture and little by little add it into the stock making sure to whisk, whisk, whisk with each addition so that it blends in well. You do not want to make little dumplings. The soup will slowly thicken. If using add the sherry at this point.
Bring the soup to a boil. Lower the heat and add the heavy cream and let heat through. Do not bring it back to a boil.
If the bisque is not as thick as you would like then mix about 1/4 cup of flour with water to make a slurry and add it to the soup in a stream whisking all the time so as to not make lumps. About 10 minutes before you are ready to eat, add in the seafood - you don’t want to overcook it and have it get tough.

To serve - add the soup to a bowl piling the seafood in the center. Sprinkle the paprika over top.

How Was the Seafood Bisque Recipe?

This is a beautifully rich, flavorful soup. I served it with some homemade Challah and a salad with simple vinaigrette. It was a perfect, comforting dinner. Very filling, delicious and satisfying. We both enjoyed it and will look forward to the leftovers in the freezer.

The Alaskan King Crab legs came from Anderson Seafoods - my favorite seafood provider. We had eaten some previously (where I had saved the shells) where I had just cooked them in garlic butter. If you ask me that is about the best way to serve high quality king crab legs and these were certainly high quality! As is everything I’ve gotten so far from Anderson.

I’ve made this soup with lobster, shrimp, and scallops. I’ve made it with seafood medley. It’s such a versatile recipe that you can add whatever seafood you have on hand to the base soup! It’s delicious for a seafood lover and it makes a wonderful celebration dinner.