Another Crawfish Bisque

It's funny, when I first discovered this crawfish, it was in a 1 pound package, for $5.00 in the freezer section of Walmart, near the frozen shrimp.  Now it's in a 12oz. package and I paid $5.00 for the two I currently have, several months ago.  When I was in Arizona, I saw this size pack marked just under $13.00!  Even at that price, if you really love this sort of thing, it's worth every penny.  It's now in our local Walmarts for right around $13 / 12oz.  Ovriously, someone screwed up big time when I was getting it at $5.00 / pound 😉 Will I buy it again at the new inflated price?  YouBetcha I will!!  I love a really good bisque!

⅓ seeded-peeled finely chopped green pepper

(or - roasted red pepper or pimentos from a jar)

2c mixed onions, garlic and shallots

1c finely chopped mushrooms

1½c finely chopped celery

1+ c finely chopped carrot

zest from ½ lg. lemon

2t Penzey's Shallot-Pepper Seasoning

1t Old Bay Seasoning

1t dry dill

4T butter

In a heavy bottomed 4 quart pot, combine the ingredients above over low heat, covered until the butter melts.  The onion mix was frozen, so that adds liquid.  Keep an eye on this so it doesn't scorch.  Add a few ounces of white wine or water if needed.  Simmer this way for about 10 minutes.  Take the cover off and increase the heat to the point of everything being translucent and possibly beginning to lightly brown just a bit.  Simmer and stir an additional 5 -8 minutes.

5c chicken broth

juice of the ½ lg. lemon

*12oz. crawfish meat

½c finely chopped parsley

(or - celery tops)

¾-1c half and half

¾-1c sour cream

Add the crawfish, lemon juice and chicken broth.  Simmer, low and slow, for 10-15 minutes.  Turn off heat and cool about a half hour.  Stir the half and half and sour cream together.  Slowly add about a cup of the cooled bisque to temper it and avoid curdling.  Stir it into the chunky bisque.  Serve with croutons.  After a time or two serving this, if you want to change it up, in a most interesting way. . .blend it before heating it the next time.  You started with a chunky bisque and end with a smooth one.  Changing the texture changes everything about this yummy soup!  *If you know you want the vegetable broth smoother, use an immersion blender before adding the crawfish then follow the instruction above for adding the dairy ingredients.  That's what I did this time.  Mmmm.

Be Bold. . .Be Creative. . .Happy Cooking! . . . Lin

Crawfish and Shrimp Bisque

I love making crawfish bisque!

And. . .as with most of my original recipes, each is quite different from the previous one. For instance, this is the first time I've added shrimp. 

Start by sautéing the chopped vegetables in butter, until they're all snapping and becoming lightly browned.

6T butter

1 big carrot

2 stalks of celery

5 lg. cloves garlic

1/3 red bell pepper

1/2 lg. purple onion

5 sm. Yukon Gold potatoes

Add 4c chicken bone broth, Cajun seasoning, black pepper and chicken Better Than Bouillon to taste.

Blend this with an immersion leaving it a little textured, or smooth if you'd rather.

Simmer this, covered 10-15 minutes on low heat.

Add 2 cans of corn, one drained and one undrained. Check the flavors and make any needed adjustments.

12oz. crawfish
8oz. shrimp—cut into small pieces
chopped celery tops

Add the crawfish, shrimp, celery tops, and simmer another few minutes. If you'd like this thicker, which I decided would be good, this would be the time to add a few tablespoons of browned roux. Bring this to a low simmer so the roux can thicken the bisque. Take this off the heat and let it cool 10 minutes. 

Just before serving, stir in:

zest and juice of 1/2 lemon
2c half and half

Serve topped with crunchy garlic-parmesan croutons. . .Lin

Crawfish Casserole

It's been a while since I've posted.  Since the last time, my first Great Grandchild was born, I developed shingles, and also had a really bad cold or the flu.  So, even though I was cooking, I wasn't posting.  Then, when I attempted to download some pictures of what I had cooked, they disappeared.  So those are gone. . .P.O.O.F. . .

This recipe looks like a remake of the previous one, using leftovers, but that isn't the case.  The two were created weeks apart since, recently, I wanted to make the crawfish bisque for my granddaughter and her guy.  I followed the previous recipe and then added the cooked pasta with a little more Alfredo sauce, parmesan cheese and Italian panko breadcrumbs, turning it into a casserole rather than a bisque.  Oh, it was good! . .Lin

Crawfish and Shrimp Bisque

Chop this group of vegetables then sauté until translucent.

2 onions

3 big ribs of celery

1/2 orange bell pepper

1 stick of butter

Next add these vegetables, stir and sauté until everything begins to brown, then add the chicken stock.

4 big cloves minced garlic

finely chopped garlic chives

chopped celery tops

a shake of cayenne pepper

1.2t finely ground black pepper

1/2-1t garlic salt

1 quart chicken broth or stock Simmer everything together for 15 minutes. Stir in 2oz. of golden or light brown roux, then blend with an immersion blender*

Bring this to a simmer for just a few minutes. It should thicken a little. Stir in:

12oz. rough chopped crawfish meat
6oz. cut up cooked shrimp
*If you want the crawfish and shrimp blended, add them now. I decided to keep the seafood a little more chunky this time, but it's good both ways.

Simmer just a few minutes to warm everything up and bring all the flavors together. Stir in:

1/3c sherry cooking wine

Cool to room temperature then whisk in:

1c sour cream

Check the flavors, then bring it back to a quick simmer before serving. This goes well with some crusty bread or oyster crackers. . .Lin

Whole 30 - Langostino Bisque

This was a fun recipe to create! 😃

The end result was a little too thin - too much bone broth - as well as a bit too lemony. Nevertheless, it's really a great bisque, but I think my favorite of all has been each of my Crawfish Bisques.

Saute the chopped carrots, potatoes, green pepper 2 of the garlic cloves-minced, and celery into a couple tablespoons of butter or ghee, in a 4 quart soup pot.

Sprinkle this with Himalayan pink salt, black + cayenne pepper and Old Bay seasoning, then saute and let it sizzle together a few minutes. Add some bone broth, cover and simmer 7-8 minutes.

Next add 2-3T of lobster Better Than Bouillon, 2-3T pure tomato paste, the kale, celery tops, 5-6 chopped green onions and the other 3 crushed-minced garlic cloves and 5 oz. of the langostino to the pot. (If you're not restricting alcohol, 1/2c or so of a good cooking Sherry could be added now.) Stir, cover and simmer, on low heat, another 7-8 minutes. Then remove from the burner to cool just a little.

Cut the remaining 7oz. of whole langostino into smaller pieces, drizzle with a little pure lemon juice, and set aside until after the bisque has been blended.

Once everything except the lemon-marinated langostino has been added to the pot and simmered, then cooled slightly, pour in the can of coconut milk, then use your immersion blender to blend everything - a little bit, or smooth, your choice.

At the very end, stir in the langostino and the lemon juice they were marinating in. 

Reheat, just until barely bubbling, stir and ladle into bowls. Garnish and serve accompanied by whatever crunchy things you like. This would pair nicely with a Chef's Salad or just a big bowl of chopped mixed greens (and crusty bread if you're not restricting grains.) . . . Lin

Crawfish Mushroom Bisque

2 stalks celery

4 oz. mushrooms

4 lg. garlic cloves

1 med. purple shallot

6 skinny green onions

2T butter
½t black pepper

1-2t Old Bay Seasoning

1-2t good lemon pepper*

6oz. dry white wine

13.76oz. crushed tomatoes

1# crawfish tail meat

6oz. Alfredo sauce

6oz. sour cream

6oz. half & half

Finely chop all the vegetables in the first group.  I used my chopper for this.  Saute' them, in a heavy-bottomed, 3½ quart pot, stirring often, for about 10 minutes.  Season at the beginning or after this step.  (*A good lemon pepper is one that doesn't have salt first on the list of ingredients.  This one is excellent.  Black pepper, salt, vegetables and lemon peel.)

Add the second group of ingredients and simmer-saute' another 15 minutes.  Add the last group and turn heat very low.  Simmer on a very low bubble while stirring for another 5 minutes.  Serve with some crunched up croutons.  This turned out so well!  I've had many Lobster Bisques that weren't this good.  The crawfish was probably the best $5.00 I've ever spent on a cooking adventure. 😋 . . . Lin