Crab Bisque
You might remember me mentioning the fabulous restaurant that inspired the fried green tomatoes that I made a couple of weeks ago – Lightfoot Restaurant in Leesburg, VA. It was definitely one of my most memorable meals I’ve had in the past year and I continue to be inspired by everything that ended up on the table that night. My Chief Culinary Consultant ordered the crab bisque that night and raved about it for months afterward. I immediately put it on my “to-make” list and was able to cross it off this summer.
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This is a quick and easy bisque recipe that can be ready in less than 45 minutes. I took a shortcut by using store-bought seafood stock, but you could absolutely make your own if you’d like (be sure to click over to the original recipe on Simply Recipes for the stock). The flavor of crab is bright and bold, and accented by the wine, tomato paste and heavy cream. While hot soups usually make me think of fall and winter, this crab bisque is a perfect summer send-off. The flavors remind me of the ocean, summer and beaches; it’s the perfect segue from summer to fall foods.
One year ago: Beer-Battered Zucchini Fries
Two years ago: S’mores Brownies
Three years ago: Beer Waffles with Cinnamon-Caramel Apples
Four years ago: Zucchini Bread
Five years ago: Italian Bread
Crab Bisque
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- ⅓ cup (3.33 g) finely chopped shallots
- 1 quart (946.35 g) seafood stock, (4 cups )
- 1 cup (185 g) white rice
- ¾ cup (180 ml) white wine
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 16 ounces (453.59 g) crab meat, divided
- 1¼ cups (297.5 ml) heavy cream
- ½ teaspoon (0.5 teaspoon) salt
- ⅛ teaspoon (0.13 teaspoon) cayenne pepper
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the shallots and saute until they are soft, about 5 minutes. Add the stock, rice, wine and tomato paste, increase the heat to medium-high and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for 25 minutes.
- Stir two-thirds of the crab meat into the soup, then transfer it to a blender (work in batches if you have a small blender) and puree until smooth. Return the pureed soup to the saucepan and place over medium-low heat.
- Stir in the remaining crab meat, cream, salt and cayenne pepper. Heat until the cream and crab meat are warmed through, about 5 minutes. Leftovers can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.
Notes
Did you make this recipe?
Leave a review below, then snap a picture and tag @thebrowneyedbaker on Instagram so I can see it!
I think the rice made it not favorable
Can you use masala wine instead of white?
Hi Marianne, The flavor will obviously be a bit different, but otherwise it should work!
Outstanding recipe! Made it with both crab and lobster and it gets better each time! I can’t find the seafood stock in the midwest, but the chicken stock works well. Thank you for this, I have passed it on to friends who are also fans!
Delicious flavor, questionable texture. The rice added a richness, however, I don’t think I cooked it long enough or did not puree it well enough as the bisque had half grains of rice throughout and was not smoooooth. Will try again, cooking the rice longer, maybe adding the stock and tomato paste later in the cooking process. Any other ideas? I look at it as cooking is an art and takes several attempts for perfection.
I would use pre-cooked rice and start with a little bit then add more.
I use plain old minute rice and put it in the blender. Works well. I don’t have the patience to make “real” rice in my rice cooker.
I’m guessing that 1 cup of rice is a typo. The original recipe that she links to calls for 1/4 cup of rice, which is what I used when I made this recipe tonight. The 1/4 cup of rice made for a wonderfully thick bisque instead of the baby food consistency that people experienced when they used a full cup. The picture of the bisque that she made here appears to have either less than a cup of rice or way more seafood stock, it’s very similar to the thickness of the bisque I made. A full cup of rice would have made it too thick and mushy.
I tried to make this as written, but ended up adding 2 more cups of liquid and a little bit more cayenne as well as a little Old Bay to give it some more flavor. My husband loves it – I like it too, but I think I will halve the rice next time (or possibly just use a recipe that utilizes a roux instead). Before adding the liquid it was just way too thick, and even with it it seems to have a bit of a gummy texture with the blended rice. Overall not bad – any creamy soup with chunks of crab can’t be too bad, right?! : )
Instant mashed potatoes work great in place of the rice!
The flavor is fantastic, I will give you that! But I think a cup of cooked rice would be better because a. It was wayyyyyy too thick and b. Would desintegrate more to be smoother. But again the flavor was awesome and even our 1 year old loves it!
Creamy and wonderful. I like very much.
Just got some fresh crabs yesterday & would love to try this recipe. Just wondering exactly what type of wine to use (I am awful when it comes to wines & would likely end up with a dry when a sweet was needed or vice versa).
Hi Emma, A chardonnay would work well with this.