Shrimp and Veggie Bisque

Bisque is a classic entree of French origin. It’s a thick creamy, smooth and flavorful soup based on a broth from hard-shelled sea creatures by simmering with aromatics to create a deeply flavored stock, then strained out, simmered again and pureed. Usually Lobster Bisque is a very well known dish but you could also use the same method with crabs, shrimps or crayfish.

Although Lobster Bisque is the standard fare at many restaurants, my first introduction to a Bisque was a Corn and Crab Bisque at a local restaurant in Lafayette, Louisiana. I was clearly impressed by this simple yet delicious dish and wanted to come up with a variation of my own.

So this time I made it at home by using shrimp & veggies instead of lobster/crab. To my surprise the bisque turned out equally good in texture, flavor & taste. Try this recipe and leave your suggestions in the comments on how you would put your twist in this classic!

Ingredients:

• Uncooked Medium Shrimp (peeled and deveined)-1/2 lb
• Small onion-1 (chopped)
• Celery-1/2 cup (chopped)
• Garlic cloves-3 (minced)
• Olive oil- 1 tablespoon
• Butter -1 tablespoon
• All-purpose Flour- 1 tablespoon
• Water- 2 cups
• Carrot-1/2 cup (thin sliced)
• Green beans-1/2 cup (1″long slice)
• Heavy whipping cream- 1/2 cup
• Fresh cilantro
• Salt and sugar (as per taste)

Spices:

• Smoked Paprika-1/2 teaspoon
• Red chili powder- 1/2 teaspoon
• Ground cumin- 1/2 teaspoon
• Ground coriander- 1/2 teaspoon
• Thyme-1/2 teaspoon (dry)

Cooking Instructions:

1. In a frying pan heat olive oil and add minced garlic, onion and celery and fry for 2-3 minutes.
2. Add the spices & salt to it.
3. Add the shrimps, cook for 2 minutes, pour 1/2 cup water to it and let it come to boil.
4. Now let that cool down. Remove the shrimps and chop them. On the other side blend the gravy to a smooth puree.
5. In a deep cooking pot heat butter, add flour and mix it in low flame for one minute. Pour the blended gravy and stir continuously so that there remain no lump.
6. Add 1 and 1/2 cup of hot water to it, simmer it for 5 minutes.
7. Put in the carrots and green beans and let it come to boil.
8. Reduce the heat and add the heavy cream, adjust salt and sugar and finally add chopped shrimps and cilantro.
9. Serve it hot with some garlic bread on the side.