The weather has turned chilly, and I’m in my kitchen making soup. That’s very common around here: colder weather means soups, stews, and freshly baked bread or muffins. Last night’s supper was no exception: it was a quick scallop bisque.
Starting with a pound of frozen sea scallops, I made a thickened broth from milk and cream, added a dollop of lobster base for oomph and color. And in only 20 minutes or so, I had a winner of a soup that became an instant family favorite. This is the reason I’ll be keeping a pound of scallops in my freezer this winter!
I made a quick batch of cheese/garlic biscuits to go with, but I’d also suggest the splendid cheese muffins, or Irish brown bread, as good accompaniments. Honestly, there isn’t much that you need to make a really, really good supper from this soup.
Creamy Scallop Bisque
Ingredients
- 1 pound sea scallops
- 1 shallot small
- 3 tbsp butter unsalted
- 2 tbsp flour all-purpose
- 1 ½ cups milk
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 1 tsp lobster base Better than Bouillon
- ¼ tsp kosher salt Diamond Crystal
- ¼ tsp ground black pepper
- 1 clove garlic small
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 tbsp chopped parsley
Instructions
- Roughly chop the scallops into 1/2 inch pieces. Don’t worry if they’re not all the same shape and size. Peel and mince the shallot. Chop some fresh parsley. Crush and finely mince garlic.
- Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the minced shallot and cook it gently until softened but not at all brown.
- Add the flour to the butter mixture and stir well. Add the milk gradually, stirring constantly. Continue cooking and keep stirring. When it starts to thicken, add the cream and lobster base, and continue cooking and stirring until thickened.
- When the mixture is smooth and thickened, add salt, pepper, garlic, bay leaf, and scallops. Reduce heat to low and cook gently for 15-20 minutes, until the scallops are just cooked through.
- Remove bay leaf, stir in the parsley (or scatter it on top if you prefer) and serve.