Prawn Bisque: An Easy Recipe for Bisque

If you are a seafood fan, a bisque is one of the best soups to make. It is a creamy and smooth soup that is highly seasoned and uses shellfish as its base. There are many variations of bisque, and one of the most popular is prawn bisque.

Other variations of the French soup include crab, shrimp, langoustine, crayfish, and lobster. However, prawn bisque is one of the most cooked varieties amongst home cooks due to the availability of prawns and the price compared to some other shellfish.

People often mistakenly believe that bisque is one of the trickier types of soup to make. However, our easy recipe includes a step-by-step guide that even soup-making novices should be able to follow. Here is our easy bisque recipe for prawn bisque.

Useful Information

Ingredients for Prawn Bisque

• 1.2 kg fresh prawns, peeled with the heads and shells reserved
• 1.5 litres of fish stock, preferably fresh
• 2 celery sticks, finely chopped
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 3 small ripe tomatoes, chopped
• 1 carrot, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, sliced
• 2 fresh sprigs of flatleaf parsley, plus extra for garnish
• 1 fresh bay leaf
• 1 tbsp tomato purée
• 4 tbsp brandy or cognac
• 100g long grain rice
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper
• Squeeze lemon juice
• 50ml double cream
• 100g butter
• 4 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

How to Make Prawn Bisque

1. Add 40g butter and one tablespoon of the oil to a large saucepan over medium heat.
2. When the butter starts foaming, add the prawn shells and heads to the pan and cook for five minutes.
3. Add the fish stock to the pan, turn up the heat to bring it to a boil, and then reduce the heat to simmer for 30 minutes.
4. While the stock is simmering, add 30g butter and two tablespoons of oil to another large saucepan and melt over low heat. Add the chopped onions, celery, carrots, and garlic, then cook for approximately eight to ten minutes until the ingredients are soft.
5. Turn the hob to medium, then add the tomato puree, bay leaf, and most of the parsley, reserving some of the latter for garnish. Cook the ingredients for a further minute.
6. Next, turn up the heat before adding the brandy. Cook for two minutes to evaporate the alcohol.
7. Transfer the prawn broth from the other saucepan into the pan with the vegetables, including the prawn shells and heads. At the same time, add the rice, tomatoes, and cayenne pepper. Cook for approximately 20 minutes until the rice is tender.
8. Remove the soup from the heat and allow it to cool a little. Remove the bay leaf and prawn shells from the pan and blend the soup either in a blender or using a stick blender.
9. Put a fine sieve over a large bowl, then ladle the prawn bisque into the sieve. Use the ladle to push the soup through the sieve to remove any lumps. Discard the solids, such as the prawn shells.
10. If you have muslin, rinse the sieve and line it with the muslin before passing the soup through the sieve for a second time.
11. Return the mixture to the pan and put over low heat on the hob.
12. Next, add a dash of brandy, lemon juice, and cream, and stir into the prawn bisque. If you do not want prawn meat in the bisque, the prawn bisque is ready to serve with a parsley garnish.

Additional Steps to Serve with Prawn Meat

1. In a separate pan, heat the remaining butter and oil in a frying pan over medium heat on the hob,
2. Chop the prawn meat, add to the pan with the chopped parsley, and gently cook for two minutes until the prawns are pink.
3. Ladle the bisque into bowls and add the cooked prawns and parsley before serving.

Additional Tips

• If you only want the smooth prawn bisque without the chopped prawns, freeze the prawn meat to use at a later date. Some fishmongers can provide customers with prawn shells and heads without the flesh if you are unlikely to use the prawn flesh later.
• Add a smoky flavour to the prawn bisque by swapping the cayenne pepper for smoked paprika.
• You might also like to try our easy soup recipe for prawn laksa.