Bisque Soup

Course:

Appetizer

Practical information

Prep time

40 min
Cooking

1 h 10
Ready in

1 h 50

Difficulty
Price

Recipe
Comments (0)

L’ABC de la Gastronomic Française defines bisque as a “thick shellfish soup, with white wine, Cognac, and fresh cream added.” The Larousse Gastronomique adds that the term bisque “suggests a connection with the Spanish province of Vizcaya, which lends its name to the Bay of Biscay.” It also states that bisques were originally boiled dishes of highly-spiced meat. Later, bisques were made with pigeons or quails and garnished with cheese and crayfish. In the 17th century, crayfish became the main ingredient. Later, other crustaceans were used for this dish./ The bisque recipe here is from Ali-Bab’s Gastronomie Pratique, written early in the 20th century. The recipe calls for a base of crayfish and chicken. As translated and tested below, the crayfish have been replaced with shrimp, which produce an equivalent flavor and are more readily available in my part of the world. Other crustaceans would work as well./ Typical of many recipes from a hundred years ago, but rare nowadays, the principal thickening agent of this soup is rice. Today, it is more common to find flour in the form of a roux or beurre manié used for thickening. In my opinion, the rice provides a smoother finish to the soup than is obtainable with a flour preparation./ One concession to modern times is the use of a food processor for pureeing the solids after cooking. In Ali-Bab’s time, a mortar and pestle were used to puree the solids.

Recipe's Ingredients

coarse salt
1 tablespoon butter
1 sprig fresh parsley
1 sprig fresh thyme
1 small leaf fresh bay
freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon cognac, flamed
2 tablespoons chilled butter, diced
3 tablespoons heavy cream

1 egg yolk
fine salt
ground cayenne pepper, to taste
25 g short-grain rice
450 g whole shrimp
20 g finely diced carrot
20 g finely diced onion
400 ml chicken stock
90 ml white wine

Recipe preparation steps
1

Place 3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons of the chicken stock along with the rice in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer for an hour until the rice is very soft. Puree the rice mixture through a fine sieve. Return the puree to the saucepan and reheat. Puree further with a stick blender and set aside.
2

In the meantime, peel half the shrimp reserving the tail meat in one bowl and the heads, bodies, feelers, legs, and shells in another with the unpeeled shrimp. Remove and discard the sand veins from the tail meat and discard. Cut the tail meat into 2" cubes. Blanch the shrimp meat briefly in boiling, salted water. Drain well, chill in an ice bath, drain again, and set aside in the refrigerator.
3

Melt the tablespoon of butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the diced carrot and onion and sweat for a couple of minutes. Add the parsley,thyme, and bay and mix. Add the unpeeled shrimp along with the peelings, increase the heat to high, and cook until they turn red.
4

Season with coarse salt and black pepper. Add 1/3 cup + 2 tablespoons chicken stock plus the white wine and cognac. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer, covered, for 10 minutes.
5

Remove the bay leaf and discard. Process the soup mixture in a food processor. Strain while pressing on the solids to capture as much of the soup as possible. Discard the solids.
6

Incorporate the shrimp soup with the rice mixture in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the remaining chicken stock. Optional: for a smoother soup, puree the soup briefly with a stick blender after adding the chicken stock. The soup may be prepared ahead of time up to this point.
7

If necessary, reheat the soup over medium heat. Whisk in the chilled butter. Combine the cream with the egg yolk. Temper this mixture with some of the hot soup and then add the mixture to the soup pot. Whisk together over high heat until the soup just barely starts to boil and is thickened slightly.
8

Divide the blanched shrimp meat between heated serving bowls. Test the soup for salt. Add a few grains of cayenne pepper. Divide the soup between the serving bowls.
Ready !