Prawn Bisque

The flavour for bisque comes from the shells of shellfish, making it a very economical soup. Whenever you peel prawns for a dish, freeze the shells and heads until you have enough to make this delicious soup, you’ll need the shells from about 18 large prawns.

Ingredients

• 50g butter
• 1 red onion, chopped
• 500g green prawn shells
• ¼ cup plain flour
• 400g canned tomatoes, drained and chopped
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 1 cup white wine
• 1 litre chicken stock or water
• ½ cup cream
• Salt flakes & freshly ground white pepper, to taste
• 1 tablespoon brandy
• Chervil leaves, for garnishing

Method

Melt butter in a large saucepan over low heat and cook onion until soft but not coloured. Add prawn heads and fry until they turn red, crushing them with a meat mallet or wooden spoon as they are frying; crush well to extract as much flavour as possible.

Add flour and stir over medium heat for 3-5 minutes, until flour is cooked out. Reduce heat. Add tomatoes and tomato paste and cook, stirring, for 3-5 minutes, until tomatoes break down. Add wine and stir until boiling. Add stock and return to the boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 20-30 minutes.

Strain, pushing through a fine sieve to extract as much liquid as possible. Return the liquid to a clean saucepan, add cream and simmer to heat through. Taste, stir through salt, pepper and brandy and serve garnished with chervil.

Notes

Alternative Species: Crabs, Marrons, Prawns, Rock Lobsters, Yabby.