I know it looks like a lot of ingredients, but most of the work is just opening cans or spooning out spices. While I used fresh spices out of my garden, the original recipe uses dried spices so feel free to do that. Remember that the conversion from dried to fresh is 1 to 4, so 1/4 tsp of dried spice equals 1 tsp fresh spice.
I’ve used four kinds of fish and shellfish including shrimp, crab, clams, and white fish, but it works well with other kinds of shellfish including scallops or salmon. You can also omit any of them as desired, just be sure that the total amount/weight of fish/shellfish is maintained.
This soup makes a great first course to a meal with fish as the main dish. Be sure to serve it with crusty bread and maybe fresh lemon on the side. See a full menu suggestion below.
This soup is just as tasty the next day, although we rarely have any leftover. For a full dinner menu featuring this show-stopping soup, consider the following:
Seafood Bisque
Ingredients
- 4 Tbsp butter
- 1 small onion chopped fine
- ½ cup celery chopped
- 2 Tbsp parsley fresh, chopped
- 1 tsp dry mustard
- 2 Bay leaves
- ½ tsp paprika
- ½ tsp oregano dried
- ½ tsp tarragon dried
- 1 tsp thyme dried
- 1 tsp basil dried
- ½ cup flour
- 2 cups clam nectar
- ½ cup white wine
- 1 cup chili sauce
- 1 cup tomato puree
- 12 oz sour cream
- 2 cups half and half
- ½ lemon with rind
- 1 dash Tabasco sauce
- 1 dash Worcestershire sauce
- 4 oz clams
- 6 oz baby shrimp
- 8 oz whitefish cut into small chunks
- 4 oz crab meat
Instructions
- Melt butter and sauté onion, celery, parsley, and next 7 spices in a skillet until onion is soft, about 4-5 min. Set aside.
- In a stock pot, make a roux of the flour, clam nectar, and wine. Cook down briefly, about 3 min, and then add the sauteed ingredients to the roux. Combine thoroughly.
- Add the next seven ingredients. Stir to blend. Add remaining seafood and heat to briefly cook all seafood.