Crab Bisque and Old Bay Croutons

Hello all! My apologies for not posting for a minute, I was sick all last week with the flu. Fortunately, I am feeling much better right now and I have an easy and great recipe for you. I don’t normally eat a lot of crab, or even shellfish, but between the tissues and lying in bed all day I had a huge appetite for a crab bisque. I especially love the homemade croutons which give that extra texture to the rich soup. I hope you enjoy it as much as we do.

Ingredients for Bisque

Makes about 4 servings

2 small stalks of celery, finely diced

1/4 cup of finely diced white onion

2 garlic cloves finely chopped

2 tablespoons of unsalted butter

1 tablespoon of neutral oil

1 tsp of Old Bay Seasoning

Salt and Pepper

1/2 cup of tomato sauce (can use tomato paste - only use a 1/4 cup)

1/4 cup of white whine - I used a Californian Sauvignon Blanc

2 tablespoons of all purpose flour

1 cup of almond milk UNSWEETENED ( I cannot have dairy in soups, if you wish to use regular dairy cream, add only 1/2 cup - add more depending on how creamy you’d like the bisque)

1 lb of good fish stock (you could replace with vegetable stock, but it wont be as good)

1 bay leaf

8oz crab meat already cooked

You will need a large stockpot, place on stove and put the heat to low/medium. Add the butter and oil. Once the butter and oil starts sizzling then add the onions and celery. When the onions and celery have softened, add the garlic, cook only a minute and then add the flour and old bay seasoning. Stir with wooden spoon to cook out the flour, add the tomato sauce and white wine. Make sure you switch to a whisk so there are no lumps of flour. Add the fish stock, bay leaf, and either non-dairy milk or cream. Whisk well and season to taste with salt and pepper. I used about 1/2 tsp of salt. Let the bisque come to a boil, mixing frequently. They reduce heat to low, let simmer for 30 minutes before adding crab meat. Don’t overcook crab meat, just heat through and then serve. (You can take out bay leaf before serving) Serve with croutons and chopped Italian flat leaf parsley if desired.

Ingredients Old Bay Croutons

Demi-Baguette chopped and cubed - about 2 cups of bread (even better if stale)

1/2 stick of unsalted butter (4 tablespoons)

salt and pepper to taste

Old Bay Seasoning

Preheat oven to 375 and have a small quarter sheet pan lined with parchment paper. In a medium skillet, melt butter, when the butter has slightly browned, add in cubed bread. Use wooden spoon and toss the bread and coat evenly. Season with salt, pepper and old bay. The bread will still be soft, cook for another 3 minutes to pick up some color. After, put croutons on sheet pan and bake for 10 minutes or until dry and crisp. Will keep room temperature for 2 days, but they won’t last that long. Ha!