Bisque de Langoustines and Whisk Wednesdays

I joined Whisk Wednesdays this past week!! I found WW a month or so ago but our construction was still "progressing" and I could not commit to a weekly recipe at that time. But now that we've received our Final Inspection I am relatively free to do as I please. Recipes are from "Le Cordon Bleu at Home".

Since I am joining late I've missed some of the classes but I will make up as I go along. This weeks lesson was Bisque de Langoustins. I have never made a successful bisque and I love bisque, any kind of bisque and at any price. I was very excited to make this weeks recipe.

Recipe called for lobster or shrimp in the shell as the shells are used to flavor the bisque and then strained out. Lobster is out of the question and I prefer shrimp over lobster...so shrimp it was. And I ran into a great deal on shrimp so stocked up!

The recipe involved several things I've never done before, which is a good thing being this is a weekly cooking lesson. And believe me when I tell you I'm a baker not a cook and I need the cooking lessons!

I started my bisque about 4:00 pm and finished around 6 pm and really had a good time as I went along. Of course I had to feed the dogs, greet my husband and answer the phone twice during the process so that added to the time. It's a relatively simple recipe. First you make the broth with the seafood shells, butter, shallots, leeks, carrots, tarragon, parsley, cognac, white wine, tomato paste, salt/pepper and heavy cream. Strain and set aside.

Then you process the raw shrimp into a fine mush and add whipped egg white, salt/pepper and parsley. And then form small saucer-shaped quenelles with the shrimp mixture and poach them until done. The quenelles reminded me of dumplings.

Then you make a rue with butter and rice flour and add the broth and stir. Adding water to thin if needed. To serve pour the bisque into a tureen and add quenelles. Garnish with chopped parsley and serve hot.

It was exquisitely delicious, very rich, very French, very good! And I had 2 bowls!!





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