A well made seafood bisque is so flavoursome and satisfying. I hope you'll enjoy my take on this French classic. It's a lovely soup to serve for entree at your next dinner party. You can make the soup up to end of step 4 on the morning of the dinner party, keep it in the fridge. Continue on from step 5 close to serving. Bon appétit! |
Ingredients 1 tablespoon olive oil 8 large green prawns, peeled, deveined, heads and shells reserved 1 brown onion, finely chopped 1 small carrot, finely chopped 1 celery stick, finely chopped 3 large garlic cloves, chopped 1 bay leaf 1L (4 cups) water 80ml (1/3 cup) dry white wine 55g (1/4 cup) medium-grain white rice 50g sachet tomato paste Pinch of saffron threads 375ml (1 1/2 cups) water, extra Salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper 8 Tasmanian scallops, deveined 250g piece salmon fillet, skinned, cut into 2cm pieces 4 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves picked | Method 1 Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the reserved prawn heads and shells, and cook, stirring, for 4-5 minutes or until the shells are browned (the shells will pop and crackle loudly). 2 Add the onion, carrot, celery, garlic and bay leaf, and cook, stirring often, for 5 minutes or until the onion is soft. 3 Discard the prawn heads only. Add the water, wine, rice, tomato paste and saffron to the pan, and bring to the boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, uncovered, for 15 minutes or until the rice and vegetables are tender. Set aside to cool for 10 minutes. 4 Transfer the mixture to a blender (shells included) and blend until very smooth. Strain through a coarse sieve into a clean saucepan. Stir in the extra water. Taste and season with salt and pepper. 5 Bring bisque to a simmer over medium heat and add prawns, scallops and salmon pieces. Cook, uncovered, for 3-4 minutes or until seafood is just cooked. Ladle into serving bowls, sprinkle with the thyme leaves and serve immediately. Serves 8 as an entree, 4 as a main course |