In Depth

Chef Patrick Mould's Louisiana Corn & Crab Bisque

Below you'll find the recipe for the quintessential Louisiana bisque. You can use any fresh seafood, but jumbo lump crab, in my opinion, is the best.

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 cup chopped onion

1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper

1/2 cup chopped celery

1/4 cup chopped red bell pepper

1 tablespoon minced garlic

2 cups chicken broth

1/2 cup dry white wine

3/4 teaspoon dried thyme

1/2 cup blond roux ( 1/4 cup vegetable oil and 1/4 cup flour)

3 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon hot sauce

1 cup cooked corn

1 pound lump crabmeat

1 tablespoon chopped parsley

1 tablespoon chopped green onion

16 crab claws, optional

Heat the butter over a low to medium heat in a 4-quart saucepot. Add onion, green bell pepper, celery, red pepper, and garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add chicken broth, white wine, and thyme. Bring to boil. In a small bowl, make blond roux by combining oil and flour and stirring until a smooth paste is formed. Whip in roux until mixture begins to thicken. Whip in cream, reduce heat to a simmer, and continue to cook until cream is blended in and beginning to thicken. Add salt, hot sauce, and corn. Simmer 5 minutes. Very carefully, in order not to break up lumps, stir in lump crabmeat, parsley, and green onions. Simmer until heated. Divide into four large bowls. Garnish with crab claws. Yields four servings.

Chef Mould is an award-winning chef, cookbook author, and television personality. His most recent book is the very user-friendly Recipes from a Chef (Wimmer, 1999).