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Shrimp Bisque

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Shrimp Bisque
You have probably noticed that I am a bit of a shrimp fanatic and I am constantly on the lookout for new ways to enjoy shrimp. A while ago I came across a recipe for shrimp bisque on Kalofagas (originally from the Toronto Star by Marion Kane) that sounded like it might just be the ultimate shrimp dish. This soup uses shrimp in no less than 4 different ways. The shells are simmered in the broth to release their flavour, the body of the soup contains pureed shrimp, chopped shrimp and whole shrimp for garnish. I looked at a few recipes for shrimp bisque and I ended up choosing this one because I like the fact that the shrimp were sauteed in butter and then the pan was deglazed with wine to pick up the extra shrimp flavour. The recipe looks a bit long but don’t let that intimidate you as the results are well worth he effort! The shrimp bisque was amazing! It was nice and thick and rich and creamy and full of shrimp flavour. I really enjoyed the texture that the pureed shrimp added to the soup and the every spoonful was filled with juicy succulent chunks of shrimp that were burst in your mouth good.

Shrimp Bisque

Shrimp Bisque

Prep Time:15 minutes Cook Time:1 hour 25 minutes Total Time:1 hour 40 minutes Servings: 4

A decadently smooth and creamy shrimp bisque filled with chunks of succulent shrimp.

ingredients
  • 1 pound shrimp, peeled, deveined, and roughly chopped with shells reserved
  • 1 tablespoon oil
  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • 1 cup onion, diced
  • 2 carrots, diced
  • 2 stalks celery, diced
  • 2 cloves garlic, chopped
  • 2 tablespoons flour (or rice flour for gluten free)
  • 2 cups shrimp stock or chicken broth or dashi
  • 2 cups water
  • 1 (15 ounce) can tomatoes with juice, chopped
  • 1/4 cup dry sherry
  • 2 tablespoons brandy
  • 1 sprig thyme
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1/4 cup arborio rice
  • 2 tablespoons tomato paste
  • 1 tablespoon paprika
  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • 2 tablespoons dry white wine
  • 1/4 cup dry sherry
  • 2 tablespoons brandy
  • 2/3 cup heavy cream
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1/2 lemon, juice
directions
  1. Heat the oil and melt the butter in a large sauce pan over medium heat, add the onion, carrots and celery and saute until tender, about 10-15 minutes.
  2. Add the garlic and shrimp shells and cook for 2 minutes.
  3. Mix in the flour and cook for 2-3 minutes.
  4. Add the stock, water, tomatoes, sherry, brandy, thyme and bay leaf, bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer, covered, for 30 minutes.
  5. Strain the liquid into another sauce pan and discard the solids.
  6. Add the rice, tomato paste and paprika, bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer, covered, until the rice is cooked, about 20-30 minutes.
  7. Melt the butter in a pan over medium heat, add the shrimp and saute until just cooked, about 2-3 minutes per side.
  8. Add the wine and deglaze the pan.
  9. Add half of the shrimp and the juices to the soup and puree until smooth with an immersion blender or in a food processor or blender.
  10. Add the remaining shrimp, sherry, brandy and cream and heat to serve.
  11. Season with salt, pepper and lemon juice.
Similar Recipes:
Shrimp Tom Yum Goong Soup
Garides Saganaki (Shrimp Saganaki)
Shrimp Scampi
Thai Lemon Shrimp
Pumpkin and Shrimp Bisque
Shrimp and Okra Gumbo
Shrimp and Roasted Corn Chowder
Shrimp Etouffee
Shrimp Wonton Soup
Cajun Sweet Potato Seafood Chowder

More soup recipes!
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Reader Interactions

Comments

  2. Kevin, I thought I recognized this soup! lol

    It’s a family favourite and it’s no surprise that you loved it so much. Thanks for trying yet another one of my dishes and thanks again Marion.

    Reply

  14. Wow Kevin! That looks fabulous!
    I was going to make a shrimp soup…this one would be perfect but the calories in it are not that perfect! Great picture as always…I love the little specs of green…

    Reply

  19. My father is a shrimp fanatic, sometimes I don’t know why he even eats other things at all. I love shrimp bisque and I am sure he would love this too, I will be passing this recipe along. Looks beautiful

    Reply

  24. With a list of ingredients that long, this has to be great!!! Beautiful color and I bet a very intense flavor!!!

    Looks like we all went “unda tha sea” yesterday…I posted a crab curry!!!

    Reply

  26. That looks amazing, I am a fanatic for seafood dishes, or dishes that contain selfish like prawns, crabs etc.. the colours here are amazing like a sun shining on a beach, and a couple of overdone British tourists lol…I loved it well done thanks for sharing the recipe

    Reply

  27. Kevin you have got to stop! I am starting to dream of your food and not only at night. I adore shrimp and this looks and sounds fantastic! But sadly I have no luck either finding or ordering at any fishmonger fresh shrimp in Nantes. I guess I will have to start begging at restaurants.

    Reply

  44. Kevin, you use dashi for this? that’s so clever. I use dashi sparingly, never thought of using it for the bisque. It’s delicious, of course!
    Cheers,
    Elra

    Reply

  47. The sweetness of seafood makes them perfect for this. Crab and lobster are good too. Yours has great color, especially with those shrimp on top!

    Reply

  52. I had shrimp bisque at one of our local restaurants, it was so rich and creamy and I loved it. Yours Kevin looks equally as good if not more so. Will have to give this recipe a try as both my DH and I are seafood lovers.
    Wonderful pics as usual.

    Reply

  60. that shrimp bisque looks so pretty! u mentioned somethin bout using the shells of the prawns as the base of the soup? that sounded like wht we have over here , its called Hokkien Mee.

    Breadcrumbs to coat the fish and the actual sauce/gravy is the melted butter and crushed garlic. and before u serve it squeeze some good amount of lemon juice and its good to go!

    Reply

  65. Amazing looking soup. I’ll try this sometime, but right now I’ve eaten enough soup to float a ship. 🙂 Thank goodness I am now onto the soft foods diet.

    Reply

  68. hi Kevin
    tried this recipe yesterday and after spending one to two hours in the kitchen the result was a little disappointing. It tasted like a normal tomato soup. 🙁
    Next time i’ll skip the parts with the shrimp shells and the rice cause there was no shrimp flavour in the bisque and it was thick enough before ive put in the rice…
    regards fabi

    Reply

  74. I am currently eating this and I added a bit of cayenne powder when I cooked the shrimp. My only comment is that it needs a little parsley but is so tasty.

    Reply

  75. I haven’t tried the recipe yet, but I have no doubt that it is good: Back in the early ’90’s I had a little seafood restaurant on the New Jersey shore (Beach Haven), and it always annoyed me when I had to discard the shells from shrimp I peeled for other dishes. I came up with a bisque that used the flavor from simmering the shells, at the rate of a gallon of water to the shells from 5 pounds of shrimp. The flavor was so intense that no additional shrimp was needed, except for texture and as a garnish.

    To keep the dish a bit more healthful, I would let the broth cool and then add powdered milk and butter, rather than cream. Don’t turn up your nose until you try it. My customers raved about it and had no idea that, in a way, it was flavored with garbage!

    Reply

  76. I just came across your blog, I like it a lot. I am a food blogger myself, with only few months blogging. Anyway, this soup looks amazing! I can't wait to try it!

    Reply

  77. Is there suppose to be duplicates in the ingredients? Such as dry sherry and brandy. I'm assuming since they are duplicates, we don't need to duplicate? Just wanted to double check.

    Reply

  78. Anonymous: There are no duplicates in the recipe. Any ingredient that is in the recipe twice is used in two different locations in the recipe. I like to list the ingredients in the order that you get to them in the recipe so that you can go down through them one at a time as you follow the instructions.

    Reply

  79. "Add half of the shrimp and the juices to the soup and puree until smooth."

    I am stuck here. When you say puree it, do I have to put it in a processor to do so? BTW great recipe.

    Reply

  80. Carla: You can puree them in a food processor or blender or even use an immersion blender right in the pot. I updated the recipe to indicate that. Enjoy!

    Reply

  82. Have made this twice in the last 2 weeks – once a "dry run" and the comment was that it was a bit "boozy"; however, the 2nd time I made it I cut down the 2nd addition of sherry and brandy. Still delicious but will stick with the way the recipe was originally submitted and add the sherry and brandy as it made it much richer. Prepped the veggies 2 days before, made the soup the day before and had fabulous leftovers the day after. A definite keeper. Thank you

    Reply

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