I love soup. That’s probably something I learned from my father, who could eat soup for every meal, all year long.
But I also like variety.
A few years ago, we attended the wedding reception for a friend’s daughter. They had the most incredible lobster bisque served for the first course. At that moment, my love affair with bisque began.
Even though I do not follow the process of grinding the shells of crustaceans into a paste for thickening the soup, I do like to use a variety of seafood. The simplest and quickest combination is shrimp and tilapia.
Simmering broth with tomatoes, roasted garlic, and herbs makes a light base for the soup. Cream and milk, along with cream cheese, make it decadent, without being too heavy. Using fish stock, leftover from Icelandic plokkfiskur, gives an even better taste, and no waste.
PrintSeafood Bisque
Description
A simple and quick taste of the sea — even for those who are land-bound.
Ingredients
- 2 c broth (fish, chicken, or vegetable)
- 1 c white wine
- 1 can diced tomatoes
- 1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes, quartered
- 4 cloves roasted garlic (or 1–2 cloves fresh minced garlic)
- 1 Tbsp dried parsley
- 1 tsp basil
- 1/2 tsp ground oregano
- 8 ounces cream cheese, cut into pieces
- 1 pint half & half (or 1/2 c heavy cream and 1 1/2 c milk)
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 2–4 tilapia filets (depending on size), thawed
- 1/2 package shrimp (20–25 shrimp), thawed and tails removed
- Salt and pepper
Instructions
- Simmer broth, wine, tomatoes, garlic, and spices together for 8-10 minutes.
- Fry peppered tilapia filets in olive oil until they flake easily – 2-3 minutes per side. Remove from pan and set aside, keeping fish warm.
- Lower temperature under broth, then add cream cheese and half & half.
- Gently heat so the cheese melts, but do not allow it to boil.
- Quickly sauté thawed shrimp in the same pan tilapia was in.
- Add fish and shrimp to soup. Serve immediately.
