Sweet Pepper Crab Bisque is perfect for entertaining because you do everything in advance. All that’s needed is a quick reheating before bowls are passed around the table. I serve it with small spoons, best for savoring each bite of the crab, each sip of the broth.
The tender and sweet crab meat in this bisque luxuriates in a creamy and flavorful broth, thickened with pureed veg and a bit of tapioca starch. In addition to the spoon, a few hunks of sourdough for sopping is wonderful. You won’t feel tempted to drink out of the bowl (God forbid) because there will be none left.
Sweet Pepper Crab Bisque is perfect for a simple supper as well. The bisque, the spoon, the bread, and a crisp, green salad is all that you need to know that all is right in the world, if only for a few minutes. A tasty pause to the craziness of our days.
Sweet Pepper Crab Bisque
Ingredients
- 3 T unsalted butter
- 1 medium onion
- 2 stalks celery
- 1/2 red bell pepper
- salt and white pepper, to taste
- 1 t Old Bay Seasoning
- 2 cloves garlic
- 2 T tomato paste
- 3 T tapioca starch
- 4 cups vegetable broth
- 1 cup dry white wine
- 1 bay leaf
- 1/2 cup whole milk (or cream)
- 1 pound crab meat
- fresh parsley (for garnish)
Instructions
- Prep the veg – Finely dice the onion, celery and bell pepper. Mince the garlic. Chop the parsley.
- Create the bisque base – Melt the butter in a soup pot over medium heat. Add the onion, celery, and bell pepper, until very soft. Season with salt and pepper, and stir in the Old Bay seasoning. Then stir in the garlic and tomato paste and continue stirring to soften the garlic and coat the vegetables. Sprinkle this mixture with the tapioca starch and stir gently on the heat until the starch is absorbed.
- Add the broth and wine, and simmer – Add the broth, the wine, and the bay leaf. Reduce the heat and simmer until the the broth is nicely thickened and the vegetables are melting into the broth mixture.
- Puree the bisque base – Remove the bay leaf and and puree the base using an immersion blender until it's very smooth. This take longer than you think it should – 2 minutes or so.
- Add the cream and crab and simmer – Give the crab meat a rough chop. Add the milk and the crab to the the base and simmer the bisque until just warmed through.
- Garnish and serve – Garnish with fresh parsley and serve.
The sweet red pepper pureed into the creamy base is the secret to this Sweet Pepper Cram Bisque.
COOKING NOTE – If you do serve this Sweet Pepper Crab Bisque for guests, you can prepare the puréed vegetable broth in advance and leave it covered on the stove. I combine the crab meat and the milk and put it in the frig until I’m ready to add it to the soup. The crab meat infuses the milk, so this bisque becomes so much more fragrant than you’d guess by the simple list of ingredients. Enjoy!