Crab Bisque
A smooth, rich soup of crab, tomato, cream and sherry, thickened with rice and finished with a spoonful of cream.
Photograph credit: Princess Seafood Restaurant - 2021-08-22 - Sarah Stierch 11 (image of crab bisque on… by Missvain · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Bisque is a smooth, creamy shellfish soup, and the classic way to thicken it is with rice. A few spoonfuls, cooked soft and blended, give it body without flour.
Soften the onion, carrot and celery in the butter for 8 minutes, add the tomato purée and cook for 2 minutes, then pour in the sherry and let it bubble for a minute. Add the stock, rice and half the crab, then simmer for 20 minutes until the rice is very soft. Blend until completely smooth. A bisque with bits in it is a chunky soup, and the silkiness is what makes it feel special.
Pass the soup through a sieve if you want it as fine as a restaurant version. Stir in the cream and the rest of the crab and warm through without boiling.
Season with salt, cayenne and lemon juice. It should taste of crab first and cream second.
Crab Bisque: Step by Step
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Soften the onion, carrot and celery in the butter for 8 minutes, then stir in the tomato purée for 2 minutes.
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Add the sherry and bubble for 1 minute. Add the stock, rice and half the crab and simmer for 20 minutes until the rice is very soft.
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Blend until completely smooth, then sieve if you like.
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Return to the pan, stir in the cream and remaining crab and warm gently without boiling.
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Season with the cayenne, lemon juice and salt.
Related guide: Choosing rice.
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Tips That Matter
- Cook the rice until very soft.
- Blend until smooth.
- Do not boil once the cream is in.
- Taste for salt at the end.
Common Substitutions & Variations
- In a sauce, full-fat crème fraîche can usually take the place of the double cream; single cream is thinner and more likely to split if it boils, so keep it below a simmer.
Serve It With
Crusty bread · Green salad · Dry sherry · Lemon wedges
Sides from the same cuisine on this site: Boston Baked Beans, Air Fryer Mushrooms, Air Fryer Potato Wedges.
Keeping and Reheating
Keeps in the fridge for 2 days. Reheat gently and do not boil.
Crab Bisque Nutrition
Per serving, calculated from the ingredient list with USDA FoodData Central figures (SR Legacy). A calculation, not a laboratory analysis: brands, cuts and how you measure change the real numbers. The calories include 2 g of alcohol a serving, which is not part of the protein, carbohydrate or fat. How the figures are worked out.
Your notes on this recipe
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Compiled by Turab
Checked by script for timings, diet labels and nutrition arithmetic. How the recipes are checked. Found a mistake? Tell us.
First published ; last changed .
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