Email to Cat      

Lowcountry Shrimp Bisque

Source of Recipe

From "Essentials of Southern Cooking" by Damon Lee Fowler


Recipe Introduction

"This beautiful bisque is typical of the simple elegance that has graced the tables of Charleston, Beaufort, and Savannah for more than two centuries. Though rich, it's subtle and delicate. Classic bisques are thickened with egg yolks, but this one employs an old-fashioned bread crumb liaison — more stable than eggs but with the same silken texture. Any white bread crumbs will work, but egg breads such as brioche or French rolls lend the most elegant finish."

List of Ingredients

â—¦ 4 cups (1 quart) water
â—¦ 1 pound whole small to medium shrimp
â—¦ 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
â—¦ ¼ cup (about 1 medium) finely minced shallot or yellow onion
â—¦ 2 tablespoons finely minced white "heart" celery (an inner rib of the stalk)
â—¦ 3 cups half-and-half
â—¦ Salt and ground cayenne pepper
â—¦ ¼ cup soft white bread crumbs
â—¦ 6 tablespoons dry sherry
â—¦ 1 lemon, thinly sliced
â—¦ Ground cayenne or paprika, for garnish


Recipe

Have a basin of ice water ready. Bring the water to a boil in a heavy-bottomed 3-quart pot over high heat. Add the shrimp, cover, and count two minutes or until the shrimp just turn pink and curl. Lift them out of the cooking liquid with a frying skimmer and plunge them in the ice water to arrest their cooking. Drain, shell, and devein the shrimp, then cover and refrigerate. Return their shells to the cooking liquid and bring it back to a boil over medium-high heat, watching carefully — it will foam up and boil over. Cook until it is reduced to 3 cups. Turn off the heat. Strain the stock, discarding the solids, and let it cool. You may make the broth up to a day ahead.

Wipe out the pot and put in the butter, shallot, and celery. Sauté over medium heat, tossing often, until the vegetables are softened, but not colored, about 8 minutes. Add the stock, bring to a simmer, then add the half-and-half. Season with salt and a small pinch of cayenne, and return the soup to a simmer, stirring often to prevent scorching. Add the crumbs, return to a simmer, and lower the heat to medium-low. Simmer, stirring often, until the crumbs dissolve completely and the soup is thickened, about 20 minutes.

(The bisque can be made ahead up to this point. Let it cool and store it, well covered, in the refrigerator. Bring it back to a simmer over medium-low heat before proceeding. The soup may thicken even more after it is cooled and reheated, so if it's too thick, add a little more half-and-half.)

Stir in the shrimp and cook until they are just heated through and have absorbed some of the flavors, about 2 minutes longer. Taste, adjust the seasonings, simmer half a minute more, then turn off the heat. You may stir the sherry into the soup or put a spoonful into each soup plate just before ladling the soup in.

Serve at once, garnishing each serving with a slice of lemon and light sprinkling of cayenne or paprika.


Serves 4