Blushing Tomato Crab Bisque

Roasting: Position a rack in the centre of the oven and preheat the oven to 375ºF. Place everything listed under ‘roasting’ on a large sheet pan. Sprinkle with a big pinch of salt and pepper and toss everything using your hands. Let roast for 1 hour if you have time you can also do this at 350ºF for 1 ½ hour. Check on the ingredients halfway through and toss.

Blend: Transfer the veggies along with any juices to a large pot along with the seafood stock, Worcestershire, 2 tablespoons pesto, cayenne, paprika, and old bay and blend it all using an immersion blender.

Finish: Place the stockpot over medium-high heat and allow the soup to reach a simmer, reduce the heat and let simmer for 10 minutes. Add the cream and allow the soup to come back to a simmer. Taste and adjust with salt and pepper as desired. You can also add the last tablespoon of pesto if you’d like. Add the crab meat and let it heat through for about 5 minutes. Serve in bowls topped with additional crab meat and chopped chives if desired.

Notes :

You can use all Romas, Italian plums, or cherry tomatoes. I prefer a combination here. Typically I’ll use halved Italian plum tomatoes and whole cherry or grapes.

Shrimp stock – if you want to make your own, you’ll need shells from 4 pounds of shrimp, 6 cups water, 10 sprigs parsley, a few sprigs of thyme, a bay leaf, 6 cloves garlic, salt, a few peppercorns, and 1/2 teaspoon of nutritional yeast (optional). Combine this in a large stockpot and allow the stock to come to a boil before lowering the heat and allowing it to simmer for 30-45 minutes. Strain the stock through a fine-mesh strainer before using.

Like a good chowder, bisques do taste better as they sit so if you’re planning on serving this over the weekend, I suggest you put it together about 24 hours in advance. I’d hold off on adding the crab to the bisque until just before serving though.