Sensational Seafood Bisque

Every time we go to visit my in-laws for the Christmas Holidays, I secretly hope that my mother-in-law will make this seafood bisque for us. She is a foodie, like my hubby and I, so it  is really nice to share food adventures. This past Holiday she shared her recipe with me and I can't wait to make this for date night! The bisque is not hard to prepare and can be done with any firm white fish or just with combination of the seafood I have listed. I usually have a combination of frozen cod, shrimp and/or baby scallops in my freezer so it's a great way to put it to use. As for the lobster, I get it when it's on sale and keep it in my freezer for special occasions.  This time we made it in a casserole, which is more family style and will feed 4-6 people. You can also make it in individual(medium) ramekins and serve it that way. If you choose to do it in  the ramekins you can cook the whole batch and then freeze them and pull out individual servings as needed. Serve with crusty bread on the side.

Here is what you will need...

1 stalk of celery, finely diced

1 medium carrot, finely diced

6-8 oz of mushrooms, sliced (I like to use crimini)

1 red bell pepper finely diced

1 medium shallot, finely chopped

1 tbsp of oil

4 cups of homogenized milk (or you can use half and half if you like it richer)

1/2 cup of flour

1/2 cup of butter

1/2 tsp of paprika

salt and pepper to taste

4 tbsp of dry white wine or sherry

1/2 cup of freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1/4 cup of finely chopped parsley, plus some for garnish

2 medium sized lobster tails (uncooked)

10 medium size shrimp cut up (uncooked, peeled and tails removed)

12 small scallops 

1(1/3 lb) medium sized fillet of cod (or any other firm white fish)

How to prepare it...

 In a pan heat the oil over medium heat and saute the carrots, celery and mushrooms until soft, 5-7 min.

Add in the red pepper and shallot and cook for another 3-5 min.

Get your yummy seafood ready by cutting it into bite size pieces (pretty much everything but the scallops).

Butter a medium size casserole dish or individual ramekins and spread out the seafood. If you are using ramekins put equal amounts of scallops, shrimp, lobster etc in each ramekin.

Now, it's time to get started on the roux...

Preheat oven to 350F.

In a medium sauce pan, melt butter over medium-low heat; stir in the flour until smooth and bubbly.

 

Gradually stir in milk/cream, stirring constantly. Continue to cook over low heat,  stirring constantly, 

until thickened and bubbly.

 

Add in your spices, season with salt and pepper and add in the wine/sherry.

Stir in Parmesan cheese.

Spread the cooked veggies over the seafood.

 Sprinkle with chopped parsley.

Pour sauce over seafood mixture.

 Using a knife, gently slide knife through so that cream sauce gets evenly spread out through the seafood. If you'd like you can also sprinkle some extra cheese on top.

Put in the oven and cook for 45-50 min. 

To check if your bisque is ready, at 45 min insert the tip of a knife in the middle of casserole and leave for 5-10 seconds. If the blade is warm/hot to the touch you know that it is ready.

Voila!