If you like seafood, particularly shellfish, you should love this bisque.
Ingredients:
5 pounds of (FRESH!) snow crab legs
4.5 quarts filtered water
1 medium onion, chopped
1.5 stalks of fresh celery, chopped
2 cloves garlic (to taste), quartered
3 large potatos, peeled and chopped
Quarter-cup fresh chopped Italian parsley
Quarter-cup unsalted butter
2 tablespoons half and half
2 tablespoons of chopped pimento
2 teaspoons mustard seed
Half-teaspoon coarse-ground black pepper
Half-cup tomato sauce
Quarter-teaspoon thyme
Eigth-teaspoon basil
Eigth-teaspoon marjoram
2 bay leaves
Directions:
Remove all the crab meat from the shells. Do not throw the shells away!
Put half of the empty shells into a large pot with 4.5 quarts of water over high heat.
Add the chopped onion, two-thirds of the chopped celery, and the garlic. Bring mixture to a boil. Continue to boil for approximately 1 hour, stirring occasionally. As the shells boil, the white part will become translucent.
Strain the stock. Discard the shells, onion, celery and garlic.
Measure 14 cups of the stock and place into a large sauce pan or cooking pot. If needed, add in additional filtered water to complete 14 cups.
Add potatos and bring the mixture to a boil. Add in half of the crab meat and the remaining ingredients to the pot and bring it back to boiling. Reduce heat and simmer for 4 hours (uncovered), until it reduces by about half and starts to thicken. Add the remaining crab and simmer for another hour until the bisque is very thick.
This recipe makes approximately 6 servings. Serve with a hearty bread. I usually save the shells and use them as compost for my garden.