As Cupid prances in, carrying his trusty bow and quiver of arrows, food talk inevitably turns to oysters, chocolate, and other well-known aphrodisiacs. Did you know that honey, avocados, and garlic are also associated with increased sex drive? Garlic – really? Garlic breath to get you in the mood – not on my watch. In the multiple articles on aphrodisiacs I read, however, “shrimp bisque” did not make appearance on a single one. How this creamy seafood soup got ousted in favor of garlic, I will never know.
Traditionally, bisques are made with a good deal of butter and cream, which helps to achieve the silky texture. However, in keeping with these New Year’s Recipes for Good Health, I lightened up this bisque by replacing butter with heart-healthy olive oil and reducing the amount of cream to a mere quarter cup for four servings.
Any concern I had over losing the distinctive creamy texture was driven away at first slurp. The shrimp stock, flavored with dry sherry, blends beautifully with the shrimp and a mirepoix (onions, carrots, and celery) to make a soup that is worthy of aphrodisiac status.
(Come join Soup-a-Palooza at TidyMom and Dine and Dish sponsored by Bush’s Beans, Hip Hostess, and Westminster Crackers.)
The recipe:
Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a medium saucepan set over moderately high heat. Add shrimp shells and cook, stirring frequently, until the tails turn pink, about 2 minutes.
Add sherry and cook, stirring frequently, until most of sherry is evaporated. Add water and bay leaf, bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Let the mixture simmer, uncovered for 20 minutes. Pour shrimp stock through a fine-mesh strainer into a bowl. Press gently on the shrimp shells to release extra liquid. Discard shells and bay leaf.
While stock is cooking, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large saucepan set over medium heat. Add the shrimp and cook, stirring frequently, until the shrimp are just cooked through, 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer shrimp to a bowl and set aside. To the saucepan, add 1 tablespoon olive and carrots, celery, and onion.
Cook until the onion and celery are soft, about 5 minutes. Stir in shrimp stock, rice, tomato paste, cayenne pepper, and salt. Cover the saucepan and simmer the mixture until the rice is tender, about 20 minutes. Reserve 8 shrimp and stir the remaining shrimp into the soup. Allow the mixture to cool for 10 minutes.
Using an immersion blender or a regular blender (in 2 to 3 batches), puree the soup until smooth. Take care not to burn yourself. Return the soup to the saucepan and stir in cream. Reheat on low.
Serve soup and garnish each serving with 2 of the reserved shrimp.
Other bisque recipes:
Simply Recipes’ Provencal Seafood Bisque
Phoo-D’s Crab Bisque
Noble Pig’s Lobster Bisque
Silky Shrimp Bisque with Sherry
3/4 lb medium shrimp, shelled & deveined, shells reserved
3 tbsp olive oil, divided
1/3 cup dry sherry
5 cups water
1 bay leaf
1 carrot, chopped
1 large stalk celery, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
1 tbsp plus 1 tsp long-grain white rice
1 tbsp plus 1 tsp tomato paste
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup heavy cream (whipping cream)
Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a medium saucepan set over moderately high heat. Add shrimp shells and cook, stirring frequently, until the tails turn pink, about 2 minutes. Add sherry and cook, stirring frequently, until most of sherry is evaporated. Add water and bay leaf, bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Let the mixture simmer, uncovered for 20 minutes. Pour shrimp stock through a fine-mesh strainer into a bowl. Press gently on the shrimp shells to release extra liquid. Discard shells and bay leaf.
While stock is cooking, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large saucepan set over medium heat. Add the shrimp and cook, stirring frequently, until the shrimp are just cooked through, 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer shrimp to a bowl and set aside. To the saucepan, add 1 tablespoon olive and carrots, celery, and onion. Cook until the onion and celery are soft, about 5 minutes. Stir in shrimp stock, rice, tomato paste, cayenne pepper, and salt. Cover the saucepan and simmer the mixture until the rice is tender, about 20 minutes. Reserve 8 shrimp and stir the remaining shrimp into the soup. Allow the mixture to cool for 10 minutes.
Using an immersion blender or a regular blender (in 2 to 3 batches), puree the soup until smooth. Take care not to burn yourself. Return the soup to the saucepan and stir in cream. Reheat on low.
Serve soup and garnish each serving with 2 of the reserved shrimp.
Makes 4 servings (appetizer size)
Sinful Southern Sweets says
Feb 11, 2011 at 12:30 pmOh my! Looks ridiculously good!
Heather (Heather's Dish) says
Feb 11, 2011 at 1:05 pmmy father in law will be so impressed when i make this for them…shrimp bisque is his favorite!
Lin Ann says
Feb 11, 2011 at 1:09 pmSounds absolutely wonderful! Gorgeous photo!!!
Pretend Chef says
Feb 11, 2011 at 1:54 pmPerfect recipe for a romantic dinner for two! I haven't met a bisque I haven't loved. This sounds and looks incredible. Are the bowls pictured from Crate and Barrel? I was browsing their website the other day and was drooling over all of their home goods.
bellini valli says
Feb 11, 2011 at 1:59 pmVery decadent and lovely for our Valentine's. Making a bisque is experiencing a new revival!!!!
A Canadian Foodie says
Feb 11, 2011 at 2:27 pmI am crazy over shrimp bisque – and sherry would be the perfect little sparkle in that bowl. I actually just bought a huge bag of shrimp shells from my fish monger yesterday to make a bisque, so I believe the stars must be aligned and that reading your post today cannot be a coincidence!
Your recipe sounds very much like the one I had in mind, except I planned to use about 4 times the shrimp shells to get an intense flavour in the broth.
I will let you know how it goes!!
🙂
Valerie
Emily Malloy says
Feb 11, 2011 at 2:45 pmThe little heart is my favorite part!
(A little poem for you on this Valentine's Day Weekend!!!)
EatLiveRun says
Feb 11, 2011 at 3:14 pmShrimp (and crab) bisque has always been one of my favorite meals but I've always been so intimidated to make it because of the stock! Thank you for this simple and delicious recipe.
Chef E says
Feb 11, 2011 at 3:18 pmI love bisque and yours looks wonderful! Love the valentines embellishment too!
Jenny says
Feb 11, 2011 at 3:41 pmMmmm, this looks like my kind of soup! Lovely!
Lizzy says
Feb 11, 2011 at 3:43 pmSuch a lovely soup!!! Sounds delectable~
Kalyn says
Feb 11, 2011 at 4:25 pmWhat a gorgeous recipe for Valentine's Day!
doughmesstic says
Feb 11, 2011 at 4:28 pmAnother fantastic recipe of yours I am going to have to try!
Tracy says
Feb 11, 2011 at 5:02 pmGoodness this looks lovely. I love a great seafood bisque!
Maria says
Feb 11, 2011 at 5:09 pmLove the presentation of this soup!
Wilde in the Kitchen says
Feb 11, 2011 at 5:28 pmThis bisque looks to pretty! My boyfriend once asked what a bisque was, I just answered it was a soup 😉 Now I know the difference!
RecipeGirl says
Feb 11, 2011 at 7:00 pmGood God, this looks evil-awesome.
Belinda @zomppa says
Feb 11, 2011 at 7:15 pmDid not know that about avocados. What a beautiful dish!
Hester aka The Chef Doc says
Feb 11, 2011 at 8:05 pmMan, what a great idea–making your own shrimp stock. For some reason, I just keep throwing away my shells! Not anymore! Thanks so much for sharing this recipe! It looks absolutely scrumptious 🙂
Pegasuslegend says
Feb 11, 2011 at 8:18 pmSounds delicious and its really awesome presentation!
Elle says
Feb 11, 2011 at 8:34 pmOh, I can almost taste it! How pretty. I've never had shrimp bisque!
Georgia (The Comfort of Cooking) says
Feb 11, 2011 at 8:39 pmHi Dara, I just wanted to let you know that I featured this beautiful shrimp bisque in my Valentine’s Day Favorites post today… Here’s the link: http://www.thecomfortofcooking.com/2011/02/my-favorite-valentines-day-recipes.html. You have a beautiful blog and I'm so glad to have found you, and this recipe! Have a great weekend!
Jessica @ How Sweet says
Feb 11, 2011 at 10:27 pmI absolutely ADORE any form of seafood bisque. It it literally one of my favorite foods. This looks awesome Dara! 😉
Cheryl and Adam @ pictureperfectmeals.com says
Feb 11, 2011 at 10:28 pmBeautiful and Delicious! Thanks for sharing this one!
Barbara @ Modern Comfort Food says
Feb 11, 2011 at 10:36 pmGorgeous, deeply wonderful, and a bunch of other superlatives, Dara. It's prime-time shrimp harvest season on my coast, and we're doing shrimp dishes every other night at my house. Can't wait to try this lovely bisque!
Angie says
Feb 11, 2011 at 11:06 pmI love all seafood bisque too, and this one looks perfect, thanks!
marla says
Feb 11, 2011 at 11:44 pmDara, you are awesome for sharing a lighter version of bisque with us. Those cream hearts are precious. Your posts always make me so happy. I bet this soup tastes amazing – will need to try this on my Valentine 😉
Shelby says
Feb 12, 2011 at 12:22 amI love the heart on top! Perfect Valentine Day soup!
Kate says
Feb 12, 2011 at 1:20 amDara – the heart is wonderful and I love the recipe. I'm going to have to figure out a way to weave this into the daring cooks challenge of tempura and soba noodles and my hubby's request for duck ravioli. I know, how in the world did he come up with that??? Kate @kateiscooking
Kankana says
Feb 12, 2011 at 2:10 amSuch a perfect soup for valentine 🙂
Eliana says
Feb 12, 2011 at 2:18 amI need to send this post over to my husband so that he can stop telling me to stop eating garlic. haha Awesome looking soup.
Melissa @IWasBornToCook says
Feb 12, 2011 at 3:11 amLooks delicious! Love the heart 🙂
Nithu says
Feb 12, 2011 at 4:13 amLovely shrimp bisque recipe. Nice.
Stephanie says
Feb 12, 2011 at 1:51 pmYum, yum. Bisques are awesome, no doubt! I love the warm earthiness of the sherry as it slowly creeps down your throat. :-p
savoringeverybite says
Feb 12, 2011 at 3:24 pmPretty and delicious! The heart is cute and clever! Definitely a great idea for a starter romantic dinner!
Torviewtoronto says
Feb 13, 2011 at 1:50 pmbeautiful presentation
Megan says
Feb 13, 2011 at 3:40 pmWhat a wonderful way to start a meal!
Robyn says
Feb 14, 2011 at 5:11 amI can't wait to try this bisque recipe. It looks perfect and light!
Jaime {sophistimom} says
Feb 15, 2011 at 8:42 pmYou have just made me very, very hungry.
I can get to your house in an hour. 🙂
Nicole says
Feb 15, 2012 at 9:03 amMAKE THIS SOUP!!! You think the recipe LOOKS good? Wait until you actually taste it! I made it yesterday with my boyfriend… best soup we’ve ever had. It’s absolutely delicious. Trust me, make it. You will not regret it!
Carrie's Experimental Kitchen says
Oct 19, 2012 at 4:57 amGood morning! I have featured this recipe on my blog today for my weekly seafood round-up and have linked this recipe to your original post so that my readers will be forwarded to your site. Thank you for allowing me to share! Here is the link: http://carriesexperimentalkitchen.blogspot.com/2012/10/seafood-frenzy-friday-week-39.html