Bisques

A bisque is a creamy puree that concentrates the essence of a single ingredient into a rich perfumed soup. Most popular are shellfish bisques but game, poultry and full-flavored vegetables such as tomato are also suitable, if less traditional.

Shellfish bisques follow a classic preparation; a complicated process calculated to bring out the maximum flavor. The principal ingredient is often sautéed and flamed, especially if live shellfish is used. Fish stock and aromatics are added, along with rice for thickening. When all the ingredients are cooked, the bisque is puréed, formerly with a mortar and pestle, but nowadays in a food processor. The bisque is then sieved before returning to the heat to simmer and marry the flavors. Scrupulous cooks then sieve it again, through the finest of conical sieves before enriching it with cream, to achieve the characteristic velvety texture. The seasoning of a bisque is critical, often a hint of cayenne is added as a foil to the rich texture and flavor. Some recipes call for a final enrichment of shellfish butter. The name bisque is sometimes loosely applied to cream soups of shellfish or vegetables, such as crab or tomato, which do not follow the classic cooking procedure.