Recipe: Best Cream of Shrimp Soup

Best Cream of Shrimp Soup
Created by The MDM Team, Thursday, January 10, 2008
You can try in vain to find a shrimp soup that's as creamy and delectable as this one.

Ingredients
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 lb. medium raw shrimp, peeled, deveined, shells reserved
4 cups fish stock or bottled clam juice
1 cup dry white vermouth
1 bay leaf
1 chopped onion
1 carrot, scraped and chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
3 tbsp. tomato paste
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 (14 1/2 oz.) can diced tomatoes
1 tbsp. butter
3 tbsp. brandy
3/4 cup whipping cream



Methods/steps
Heat 1 tbsp. olive oil over medium heat in a large saucepan. Add reserved shrimp shells and saut stirring for 5 minutes. Add stock, vermouth, and bay leaf. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 25 minutes then strain stock into a bowl. Heat remaining olive oil in the same saucepan over medium heat. Add onion, carrot, and garlic, and saut 5 minutes. Add tomatoes paste and cayenne, blending well. Add tomatoes with juices and shrimp stock. Simmer 5 minutes. Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat and add shrimp. Saut 2 minutes and remove from heat. Add brandy and carefully ignite. After the flames subside, return pan to heat and saut shrimp 2 more minutes, or until cooked through. Place 6 shrimp in a bowl and set aside. Mix remaining shrimp into soup. Add cream to skillet, bring to boil and add to soup. In a food processor or blender, puree soup in batches; strain through a coarse sieve, set over a large saucepan, pushing through most of the solids with a wooden spoon. Bring to a simmer and season to taste. Ladle into bowls, topping each bowl with one reserved shrimp.