Indulge in the rich, velvety goodness of shrimp bisque, a seafood delight that's easier to make than you think! Originating in France, bisques are closely tied to the country’s coastal culinary traditions. A bisque is a smooth, creamy, highly seasoned soup that’s usually made with seafood like lobster, crab, or shrimp. The word "bisque" likely comes from the French phrase "bis cuites," or "twice cooked," because the seafood is often roasted first to bring out the flavors before being cooked in a broth.
This recipe is based on classic culinary techniques and tools. For example, deglazing issimply the act of adding liquid to a hot pan, allowing the caramelized bits stuck to the bottom to release. A chinois is a conical sieve with an extremely fine mesh that’s used to strain the bisque. Your Vitamix blender has the power to pulverize shrimp shells to add depth of flavor.
Traditional bisques are often laden with heavy cream and salt, adding lots of fat and sodium. This version is much lighter, using lots of herbs, spices, and veggies for flavor. To make a gluten-free bisque, simply use raw rice as your thickening agent instead of the flour.
Ingredients:
- ¼ cup (30 g) vegan margarine
- 1 pound (454 g) shrimp
- 1 (200 g) onion, peeled chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, chopped
- 1 (70 g) celery stalk, chopped
- 1 (250 g) fennel bulb, chopped
- 2 Tablespoons (20 g) all-purpose flour
- 2 Tablespoons (30 ml) tomato paste
- ¼ cup (60 ml) dry white wine
- 4 cups (960 ml) vegetable stock
- 1 dried bay leaf
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt, optional
- ½ teaspoon ground cayenne pepper, optional
Step 1: Start the Shrimp
Heat a large stock pot over medium high heat. Add the margarine and allow to melt. Par cook the shrimp, remove 12 shrimp from the pot and cover until finishing the soup.
Step 2: Simmer the Soup
Add the shrimp shells, onion, fennel, celery, and garlic, and cook until slightly browned. This is the step to build flavor from the shrimp shells and vegetables. Add the flour and tomato paste, stirring them constantly and caramelizing slightly. Deglaze with white wine. Add the spices, bay leaf, and vegetable stock. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer and cook for 30 minutes.
Step 3: Blend the Bisque
Remove the soup from the stove and carefully add all the ingredients into the Vitamix container and secure the lid. Run the Dips & Spreads Program or start the blender on its lowest speed, then quickly increase to its highest speed. Blend for 60 seconds, using the tamper to push ingredients toward the blades.
Step 4: Strain, Heat, Enjoy!
Using a chinois and a ladle, strain the bisque mixture into the stock pot. Pushing the soup through the chinois will give a glassy refined texture. Heat the soup, add the reserved shrimp to finish cooking and serve, using some of the fronds from the fennel as garnish.
Chef’s Tip: To make a Fennel Foam steep fennel fronds in two cups of vegetable broth. Strain liquid into the Vitamix container, add 4g of Soy Lecithin. Start the blender on its lowest speed and increase to its highest. Blend for 30 seconds. Spoon the foam onto the plated dish.