Another universally popular item are the Bisques. These come in many forms – lobster, oyster, fish, mussels, prawns, and all follow the general recipe such as this one. You can substitute and delete many of the seafood items at your discretion.
| Ingredients | Serves 4 |
| Assorted cooked seafood | |
| (prawns, mussels, scallops, crab) | 240 gm |
| Tomatoes, chopped | 480 gm |
| Olive oil | 4 tspns |
| Onions, sliced | 2 |
| Garlic cloves, crushed | 2 |
| Black peppercorns | 1 tspn |
| Fresh basil, shredded | 1 tbspn |
| Chopped coriander root | 1 tbspn |
| Chicken or fish stock | 750 ml |
| Tomato puree | 8 tbspns |
| Rice wine or dry sherry | 2 tbspns |
| Pouring cream | 4 tspns |
| Salt and freshly ground black pepper | |
| Chopped parsley as garnish |
Cooking Method
Heat the oil in a saucepan. Add the onions and cook gently for 3 minutes. Add the tomatoes, garlic, peppercorns, basil and coriander, and cook gently for 10 minutes until the tomatoes are soft. Add half the stock, bring to the boil, cover and simmer gently for 15 minutes. Strain the soup and return the liquid to a clean saucepan. Add the remaining stock, and tomato puree. Bring to the boil, and then simmer for another 15 minutes. Stir in the seafood and the dry sherry and heat through for 5 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Put soup into warm bowls. Swirl a teaspoon of Grand Marnier for an exotic taste and then a teaspoon of single cream into each serving. Sprinkle with chopped parsley garnish and serve immediately.
