This is a light, simple and very flavorful bisque. The base can be prepared a day ahead and then finished 15 minutes before serving. All of this makes it a perfect first course for meals that are quite large, time consuming and filling. Especially if the house is full of hungry family and friends who have been around all day and already eaten all the appetizers.
Canned pumpkin puree is perfectly fine to use in this instead of fresh pumpkin. Just make sure it is not a can of pumpkin pie filling. If you use fresh pumpkin, steam it in the oven until it can be mashed into a smooth puree. Smaller shrimp can be used if 16-20 size are not available. The most important thing is the shrimp is as fresh as possible and definitely not from a bag in the freezer section. To cut sage leaves into ribbons, roll up the leaves and then slice them as thin as possible along the edge. Then unroll the slices to form long ribbons. Do not slice the sage leaves until just about ready to serve or it will begin to dry out on the counter. This will serve 6-8 people. The recipe is adapted from one on Epicurious from The Herbfarm Cookbook.
Pumpkin Shrimp Bisque
- 1 lb fresh 16-20 sized shrimp
- 1 cup dry white wine
- 4 cups fresh chicken or vegetable stock
- 2 ribs celery chopped roughly
- 1 small onion chopped roughly
- 2 bay leaves
- 8 fresh sage leaves
- 2 cups fresh pumpkin puree
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1/2 lemon
- 2 tbsp fresh sage cut into thin ribbons
- Salt/pepper
Peel and devein shrimp. Place the shrimp in a bowl and refrigerate. Add three tablespoons olive oil to a four-quart sauce pan and heat over medium high. Add shrimp shells when oil is hot but not smoking and cook shells, stirring constantly, until deep orange, about five minutes. Do not burn the shells. Add the onion and celery and cook until softened. Add wine and boil it until mostly evaporated. Add stock, bay leaves, uncut sage leaves and season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil then simmer stock on low for 30 minutes. Strain stock, pressing all the liquid out of solids with a spoon as possible. Add stock back to pan and whisk in pumpkin, cayenne pepper and cream. Bring to a simmer and then cook on low until bisque begins to thicken, about 10 minutes. Squeeze lemon into soup and season with salt and pepper. If need be, add more cayenne as well. At this point the soup can be set aside and refrigerated for up to a day. To finish bring soup, back to a simmer over low heat. In a large frying pan heat two tablespoons olive oil over medium high heat and add reserved shrimp. Cook until shrimp is just cooked through and no longer translucent but has not begun to curl. Divide shrimp equally into 6-8 bowls and ladle hot soup over them. The shrimp will cook the rest of the way in the broth. Sprinkle the ribbons of sage into each bowl and serve immediately.
YUM!!!!!! I want this with crab…. what a yummy comfort food this is- very creative use of pumpkin!!!! 🙂
This sounds delicious – I agree with the crab too!
Hey we had this at our hotel in Shanghai the other day but yours sounds better!
Wow, this combines about all of my favorite fall flavors in one soup! I want some right now– I must try this!
This looks heavenly. It’s my soup for next week!!! Sage, pumpkin and shrimp. You’re killing me.
Looks like you served up a winner!
Sounds totally awesome. I want some.
That looks amazingly yum. Just what I need for my lunch now.
In a hotel and no cooking facilities so won’t be trying it this weekend! Looks rich and delicious.
Looks good Greg!
Beautiful colours – nice pic. Every stall and shop around here is piled with pumpkins and I’m yet to be converted. I do like roasted “butter nut” squash, but there’s a sweetness to pumpkin that doesn’t work for me.
Oh WOW this sounds good! Pumpkin and sage are awesome flavours together, and I bet the shrimp is great in there too!
what a lovely bisque! I am so wary of packet prawns in case they are from a dodgy source 🙂
Greg, Such lovely flavor combinations, even without tasting it, I can tell it is going to be right on. Take Care
Lovely looking bisque!
Thank you, thank you, thank you!
I HATE when recipes just say ‘large’ or ‘medium’ shrimp…give me the actual size!
(For those who don’t know, 16-20 means number of shrimp per pound….)
Fabulous flavors here, too – if I was still in the business, I’d be sampling this for the holidays, and handing out the link!
I will be honest, I probably wouldn’t try this if I saw it on another blog.. but you guys just make this pumpkin bisque look so good. Very nice
I am familiar with this recipe and I loved it!! It’s definitely light enough to be served before dinner. I’d love for you to linky it to my chowder post as I know it would be a great starter for Thanksgiving!!
This looks so delicious and perfect for the season. We love shrimp along the Gulf and thank you for suggesting the 1 lb. 16-20 shrimp.
Magnificent bisque!
🙂 Mandy
It looks filling, luscious and elegant. A perfect soup for an Autumn dinner.
Great combination of flavors, I must make this soup for Phil, he will be in heaven!
I like the sound of this one! Mmmm… and slurp! 🙂
Number one – I love a good bisque! Number two – I love pumpkin and sage! This looks very, very good! We’ll leave Ritchey out of this one, because he would eat it all!
Great looking bisque! I just tried to imagine a pumpkin pie filling shrimp bisque… lol
Wow, pumpkin bisque! With shrimp! I wouldn’t necessarily think those 2 things would go together but you’ve made it look and sound pretty great. And this is making me sad I haven’t made anything with pumpkin yet. Dang it!
Pumpkin bisque? really, can you get more creative and exotic. I love this idea. I am not a huge bisque lover but with the right texture and flavor I am all over it!
Your opening photo is incredible and this soup would really set the tone for a memorable holiday dinner. Invites to your table must be sought after & highly prized.
I’ll have to remember this when my family’s here for Thanksgiving!
Looks so good! And thank you for clarifying, I just know I’d be one of those people who picked out pumpkin pie filling as opposed to canned pumpkin. 😉
Oh. My. Word. I need this right now, for breakfast.
This looks amazing, and I bet crawfish would be wonderful! What a great soup!
Okay, this is insane. I’m so happy you posted this, because at a restaurant a few weeks ago I had a Pumpkin Lobster Bisque with Pecan Pie Ravioli and it was SO good. This recipe looks like it would be similar. Can’t wait to try!!!
Oh YUM! That soup sounds unreal. I can taste the rich flavors just thinking about it. I’ll take three bowls, please.
Wow – what lovely flavours together … prawns, pumpkin and cream. It looks so pretty too!
I’m so addicting to pumpkin right now… I can’t believe I haven’t done a pumpkin soup yet! Great idea to use sage in this, and I bet the cayenne kick sends it over the edge. Yum!
Mmmm that looks too delicious! Sounds like quite a lovely array of flavors.
A beautiful start for the holiday meal.
This sounds really, really good. Love the idea of the fresh sage!
a wonderful meal, and looks good and satisfying! Accompanied with crusty bread and chilled white wine…? you both have a great weekend!
I love the look of this bisque – and pumpkin has become one of my favourite ingredients, just a pity I can’t seem to find canned pumpkin puree here in Mexico..i’m all about making life simple 🙂
Looks great – you know, I don’t think I ever had a bisque. Something that will have to corrected before long! I bet cray/craw-fish would be awesome in this too!
Ohhhh that bisque looks divine
Pumpkin and shrimP are an interesting combo, I will have to give it a try (mind you, I’ll just milk or evaporated non fat milk to keep the fattage down!)
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Sounds phenomenal and I might even kick up the cayenne a bit.
I would love this! Pumpkin is a favorite of mine any way you use it.
Wowzers! This looks really good!
What a great thanksgiving/autumn style meal! Great looking recipe!
Oh, that must be delicious.
seafood, cream, pumpkin, YES PLEASE! You are making me so jealous with all these wonderful autumn recipes.
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This is very very good! I wonder how it would taste also with crab or halibut. But I do love shrimp so this was just right!
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