Seafood Bisque

This flavorful bisque is perfect for warming you during a cold winter. It also would be great as an appetizer for your Christmas or New Year's Eve celebration. A bisque is a type of creamy soup that is made with shellfish. This bisque uses shrimp as the shellfish component. The other main component of this seafood bisque is the cod. I got this wonderful recipe from Betty Crocker's 2004 Holiday publication, and it is definitely a keeper! The added basil pesto is what makes this dish extra special as it adds a richness to it. This seafood bisque is so good you might be tempted to pour it over pasta as a sauce! Now there's a thought...

Bon Appetit!

Tips:

I used store bought pesto, but feel free to make your own.

As you dish up the soup, sprinkle chopped fresh basil leaves and a little freshly shredded parmesan cheese on each serving.

Preparation time is 15 minutes. Total time is 25 minutes.

Click here for a printable version of this recipe.

Ingredients:

1/3 cup butter
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
2 cans (14 ounces each) chicken broth
4 cups (1 quart) half-and-half
1/2 cup dry white wine or water
1/2 cup chopped drained roasted red bell peppers (from 7-ounce jar)
12 ounces cod fillet, cut into 1-inch pieces
12 ounces to 1 pound uncooked peeled and deveined medium shrimp, thawed if frozen and tails removed
1/2 cup basil pesto
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Directions:

In a 4-quart Dutch oven (really heavy pot), melt butter over medium/high heat. Stir in the flour. Gradually, stir in the broth, half-and-half, and wine (or water). Stir in the bell peppers and cod. Heat to boiling, stirring occasionally. Stir in the shrimp. Simmer uncovered 2 to 3 minutes or until the shrimp are pink and firm. Stir in the pesto, salt, and pepper. Makes 8 servings.