Shrimp Bisque

This is such an easy and delicious soup, the flavours will have you wanting more and more. And will leave you with a question: Why did I not make this sooner? 

SERVES 4

INGREDIENTS

1  medium onion, thickly slicked
1  tsp of butter
1  tsp of oil
2  small carrots, peeled and sliced
1  tsp of sugar
6  cups of vegetable broth or water
2  bay leafs
1  lbs. shrimp, de-veined, shell on
4  tbsp of whipping cream
4  tbsp of coconut milk, reduced in fat
1  lemon, peel
    salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
    chives and lemon peel to garnish
 

Heat a medium size pot under medium heat. Add butter, oil and onion and sauté until lightly translucent. Add salt and pepper to taste and carrots. Sauté for 2 more minutes.

Add vegetable stock, bay leafs and bring the stock to a gentle simmer. Peel the shell and tail of the shrimp, and toss the shell and tail to the stock and gently let it simmer for 20 minutes.

Scoop and dispose of the shell and tail from the broth.

Bring the broth to a more vigorous boil and add all of the shrimp to the broth. Cook for 1 minute until they turn pink, and take the pot of the heat.

Scoop 2 or 3 shrimp out of the broth for each person, they will be added at the end along with the garnish. Let the broth cool down for a few minutes.

Insert a hand held mixer into the pot and whiz everything together so the broth will take on a thick smooth consistency.

Add the whipping cream and the coconut milk. This dish is almost ready to eat. Pour it into individual bowls, place the shrimp in the middle, sprinkle lemon peel over the shrimp and insert a few chives for extra glamorous presentation. Voila!

TIP DU JOUR:
In this recipe, the vegetable stock gives additional depth to the broth. If you don’t have a home made stock on hand use vegetable cubes, just be cautious not to make the broth too salty. Otherwise you can use water or chicken stock.

To keep it lower in fat substitute half-and-half or milk for whipping cream and use low-fat coconut milk.