Crab Bisque
This lighter version of crab bisque is still plenty rich and velvety thanks to lightly thickened half-and-half in place of the more traditional heavy cream. The crab topping with lemon and parsley makes this easy bisque company-worthy while helping to balance the flavors.
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 large leek thinly sliced
- 1 cup finely chopped celery
- 1 ½ teaspoons smoked paprika
- 2 tablespoons unsalted tomato paste
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 3 cups unsalted chicken broth or seafood stock
- 2 tablespoons dry sherry
- 2 ½ cups half-and-half
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 1 pound fresh lump crabmeat drained and picked over, divided
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
Instructions
- Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium-high heat, about 1 minute. Add leek, celery and smoked paprika; cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are slightly tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in tomato paste; cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add flour; cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute. Gradually add broth (or stock) and sherry, stirring constantly and scraping the bottom of the pan to release any browned bits.
- Bring the mixture to a gentle boil over medium-high heat; stir in half-and-half, cayenne and salt. Reserve 6 tablespoons crabmeat; stir the remaining crabmeat into the soup. Reduce heat to medium and cook, stirring occasionally, until heated through and flavors meld, about 10 minutes.
- Combine the reserved 6 tablespoons crabmeat in a small bowl with parsley and lemon juice. Divide the bisque among 6 bowls and top each with 1 tablespoon of the crabmeat mixture.